


Time for School

by Anthony



Category: Original Work
Genre: Casual Sex, Chaptered, Coming of Age, Consensual Sex, Erotica, F/M, First Kiss, First Time, Gen, Hand Jobs, High School, Humor, Inner Dialogue, Intimacy, Loss of Virginity, Novel, Nudity, Oral Sex, POV First Person, POV Male Character, POV Original Character, Sex, Sexual Content, Students, Superpowers, Teenagers, Vaginal Fingering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-31
Updated: 2015-01-01
Packaged: 2018-01-10 17:45:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 161,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1162663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anthony/pseuds/Anthony
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An unremarkable high school student suddenly discovers an extraordinary, inexplicable superhuman power inside of him. It doesn't take long for him to master it, giving him the confidence to make his fantasies come true.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is the beginning of what I hope to be a long and flourishing series of stories. It is an unabashed self-insert series that takes place in the real world. However, instead of allowing it to become a ridiculous self-insert Mary Sue/Gary Stu mess, there is actual development in my own character as well as others. There are plotlines and various arcs. Basically it's an actual story and not some random, ham-handed fuckfic. Yes, this story does have graphic sexual content and strong language.
> 
> If any of that somehow offends you, feel free to close this tab. This is my own series, I will write it as I see fit.
> 
> For those that are still here, enjoy. Please feel free to offer constructive criticism wherever you find plot holes, typos and grammatical errors, as well as any reasonable comments and suggestions you may have. Do not bother writing negative reviews/complaints as I will simply remove them.

The year was 2001. Not a space odyssey by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a pretty colorful point in my life. It was later in the year – winter time. I'd always liked the cold air. It was fresh, invigorating. It felt like winds of change; as though bigger, better things were only a gust away.  
  
I was just another a teenager in tenth grade. Unsurprisingly, that also meant I had teenage hormones that raged constantly and I was always caving in to them. Aside from any pictures or videos I could've ever found on the _internet_ , there were scores of pretty girls I found quite appealing at school. The combination of the two caused me to fabricate an endless array of fantasies in my head.  
  
I couldn't help but let my mind wander during school, day in and day out. There was never a shortage of nubile girls my age sitting mere feet away from me with their lovely, warm bodies curved and filled out in the right places; my nose catching just a whiff of their different perfumes and admiring the attention to detail they spent grooming themselves...  
  
To put it simply, I was pretty damn horny a lot.  
  
I fantasized relentlessly about the opposite sex. The only problem is they weren't interested like I was. I had the unfortunate designation of being a wild child throughout my childhood and into my teens, and I was indeed wild. I was also the complete opposite of the stereotypical female fantasy of a tall, dark stranger. I wasn't an honors student and I wasn't captain of the football team – I was just a regular, short-ish blond guy. And so, I fell back on my imagination and doing such silly things in my spare time as daydreaming and writing stories about them, which was complete and utter silliness.  
  
I knew there was simply no possibility of ever getting lucky with any of the many objects of my desire.  
  
  
But then, one early Monday morning I woke up. It wasn't an amazing achievement, I'd done it many times before. However, that morning I noticed that I suddenly had a very odd superpower that just came out of nowhere. It was just a thing that happened. It wasn't something that could be explained with some sort of long, complex, meaningful plot or a fantastic backstory – it just happened. That's all there was to it.  
  
I didn't know I even possessed it until that very morning, when I was walking down the city sidewalk toward the school bus with my backpack slung over my shoulders. It was only a little chilly out so I had opted not to wear a sweater. I lived in a city right by the beach in a really great apartment building, so the air always carried the smell of the ocean breeze no matter the time of day. The sun hadn't even come up yet, which always made me wonder why **I** had to get up before the **sun** did just to get to school. I was convinced it had to be some sort of torture.  
  
But as I pondered upon such an important question as beauty rest, a very inattentive guy on a bicycle came out of nowhere and barreled straight toward me. I gasped and panicked, throwing my hands up to shield myself and brace for the impact when suddenly everything went very quiet.  
  
I slowly opened my eyes, hoping I wasn't in the hospital. To my surprise, I was completely unscathed. The bicyclist, however, seemed to be completely frozen in place; as though time had stopped. I looked around with wide eyes – the world around me was completely motionless. The tree leaves stopped rustling, cars on the early morning street were at a halt, and that damn flickering street light finally stopped its flicker. Everything was just as still as the bicyclist was.  
  
However, I was not.  
  
  
I calmly stepped out of the way of the oncoming cyclist and began to walk around. My jaw hung slightly agape in fascination as I curiously looked in all directions. I spotted a few people in the distance that were also stuck in mid-travel and the otherwise swaying tree limbs were stuck in a bent position. But the most striking thing to me was how **quiet** it was – utter silence. The only sounds I heard were the ones I was making.  
  
I couldn't help but utter my first words in sheer confusion. "Okay... what?"  
  
I curiously touched the frozen bicyclist's arm. He was as solid as concrete. It was stunning and yet for some reason it made perfect sense to me.  
  
"Did I do this?" I wondered aloud. "...How do I even turn it off?"  
  
I slowly turned my gaze away from the cyclist, back in the direction I was headed and I began walking off toward my destination. I pretended as though everything was completely normal, my mind wanting to will time to resume. And so, just then, it did.  
  
The sudden resumption of all sounds caused me to jump in surprise. I looked back at the cyclist, who just kept on going. He had sped toward me because he hadn't even _noticed_ me. I couldn't help but shake my head in disbelief.  
  
  
While I continued my morning trek, I obsessed over how exactly I had just done that. I combed over all manner of wild theories in my mind from radioactive superpowers to me being an alien to being some kind of government experiment. I then imagined time being frozen again and suddenly, it was.  
  
My eyes widened in amazement. When I imagined time resuming again, it did. I continued to test it several times, turning time on and off like a light switch. It brought an amused grin to my face as everything moved in slow motion like I was hitting 'pause' on a video game over and over again. I'd always been a pretty quick learner, even if I did hardly pay attention during my classes.  
  
I reached my bus stop, where mostly everyone stood around like zombies, as was the norm. I never really cared about carrying on a conversation so early in the morning and I was paid in kind by the other kids. But still, I couldn't help feeling on top of the world right then, standing there and waiting for the bus with a big grin on my face. I knew this incredible new power was going to be awesome.  
  
  
On the bus to school, as the sun started to peer over the horizon, I continued to use my new power for my own entertainment. I found myself excelling quickly as I got used to it. I soon had it down to simply doing it with a blink of my eyes. However, that would have forced me to never blink if I wanted things to always stay the same, so it was only when I thought about it while blinking did it happen.  
  
I amused myself on the bus ride, playing games with my power. I stopped time just to read people's license plates as people drove by, or to see what people were doing in their cars. It was endless fun to watch people sing, eat, yell at their kids in the back, or talk on these newfangled things called cell phones that more and more people were starting to own.  
  
I then froze time just to look up at birds overhead but, when I did, something strange happened. I had somehow made it so that the birds were the **only** things that froze. It kind of sent me into a panic as I quickly resumed time for them before anyone happened to notice.  
  
My eyes shifted back and forth in a rather guilty manner as I looked around the bus. As I did, I suddenly came up with a new idea.  
  
I stopped time once again and then slowly, cautiously stood up on my seat. I realized that the seat had become like cement, just like the cyclist earlier. It wasn't saying much though – that cheap plastic-covered seat was like granite even without the time stop.   
  
I pushed the head of the kid sitting next to me, finding it unable to budge not even the slightest inch. I hummed thoughtfully before placing a foot on his head, striking a goofy pose atop him with my other foot on the seat. I laughed and grinned in amusement as I looked down at the frozen students, who were oblivious to what was going on.  
  
"Awesome," I quietly remarked before dropping down and calmly sitting on the hard seat, which became just slightly more cushioned again when time started. I couldn't help but happily smirk as all the noise around me resumed, feeling as though the possibilities with this power were already becoming more and more diverse.  
  
  
We finally reached our destination which was, of course, school. I decided to be sneaky and froze time just after we stopped. I grabbed my backpack, hopped over my seating partner and then walked to the front of the bus, where I resumed time around the bus door. I opened it myself and walked off the bus, closing it behind me.  
  
I wasn't concerned with anyone on the bus realizing I had vanished into thin air. I knew everyone would be too preoccupied or half-asleep to even notice. I then slung my backpack over my shoulders and headed into the motionless world and onto the school grounds.  
  
In just the first morning I was already starting to master this unreal ability, which seemed only bound by my imagination. I looked around in awe of the quiet and stillness all around me. It went completely against the norm of the early morning school rush: loud, bustling and frenzied.  
  
I found a large group of students and walked into the midst of them before resuming time. Suddenly, I was within the hustle and bustle of the morning droves and fell into the rhythm of my usual morning routine.  
  
  
I headed for the cafeteria, getting my usual breakfast there and sat down in my usual seating place, off in my own little world. Having some quiet time away from the insanity of high school was a saving grace for me. That damned bus was always late getting to school and so, I decided to take the incentive to use my new power to my advantage and stop time while I ate. There weren't many kids around, and certainly none of them would have noticed how fast I ate.  
  
Amongst the incredible silence, I was able to take my time to finish my food with plenty of time before the bell rang. I resumed time and got to my feet, tossing my disposable tray in the trash before heading outside. I had some extra time to kill, so I went to go chat with my usual group of friends for a bit. They were surprised to see me swing by so early and couldn't help but take a jab at me, considering how late I usually was with finishing my breakfast. I couldn't help but smirk slyly as I let them poke fun at me.  
  
Not long after, the bell to start school rang. My friends and I went our separate ways as I joined the throng of students that began to file into the buildings for their first period class. The sounds of shuffling feet and conversations were unrepentant. I was always so bothered by how crowded the halls were and, being shorter than some, it was tough for me to see ahead beyond whoever was in front of me. It was also especially underwhelming to be downwind from some of the larger, smellier guys that seemed to be allergic to soap.  
  
It was an 'odd day,' which meant that I was going to my first, third and fifth periods for double the regular amount of class time. After making it out of the confining hallways, I was uncharacteristically happy to finally make it to my first class: World History.  
  
  
Class was expectedly quite dull. We did more of the same work and more of the same reading from our textbooks—I wasn't too terribly interested in it. I was a bit tired as well. I'd stayed up late on the computer, which was the norm for me. So, with the help of my useful new powers, I took myself a little time-stopped nap. The lack of noise helped me doze off as well. I was impressed with myself to be able to control my power even though I was asleep. Quite impressed.  
  
With a power nap out of the way, I was able to make it through the rest of the class with a decent amount of interest. I carried myself through my work, but not without thinking often upon my newfound ability. I decided to amuse myself at points by blinking time on and off to watch the rest of the class move in slow motion.  
  
At one point, the teacher got up to go help a student with a question she had. I froze time once he left his desk and headed for it. I took a brief look around the desk before touching the crowd of pens in their own little holder. I pulled my hand back in surprise when they suddenly became mobile again. It was then that I realized it was possible for me to will specific things to become as mobile as I was in this crazy, time-stopped world. It seemed like what I did with those birds, only reversed.  
  
I snickered as I quickly placed all of his pens into the desk drawer. I then went back to my seat, resumed time and kept an eye on him until he went back to his desk. He sat down and blindly reached for a pen, only to realize there were none.  
  
The stunned look on his face was priceless.  
  
  
Pretty soon the bell rang, ending class. It was time to move onto my favorite class: Biology. I say it was my favorite not because of the class itself–which was unmercifully boring–but because of the gorgeous student body that made up the class.  
  
I managed to get out into the hallway before it got flooded with a tsunami of teenagers. Up the stairs and down the hall I went for my next classroom. I took my seat which was near the back of the room while the others in my class began to file in and talked amongst each other. I sighed and gazed adoringly at the slew of wonderfully pretty girls I had for classmates.  
  
One by one, more of my classmates trickled in. Amongst those that I heavily admired, was one lovely girl who made a gloriously late-as-usual entrance just before the bell rang. Her name was Jennifer. And though each one of the girls in class didn't necessarily know me very well, Jennifer was the one who really couldn't stand me.


	2. Jennifer

Jennifer's spitefulness towards me wasn't without reason. I was known for being pretty outlandish and being a troublemaker. Still, I had to do **something** while I was being bored in class. That 'something' always seemed to end up being pestering Jennifer, if only just to get a reaction out of her. In a weird way, I think she actually liked the attention I was giving her. The two of us shared a contentious dynamic. It was almost like a strange cat-and-mouse game we played as to how much she could endure before she lashed out at me in front of the entire class.  
  
She was so cute when she was mad.  
  
The chatter between students continued and only amplified once the bell to begin class rung. As Jennifer approached me, I smirked playfully at her. She merely rolled her eyes and walked past, taking her seat which was just behind mine. She was wearing a sweater, seemingly feeling colder than I was in the brisk, early winter air.  
  
Jennifer had been blessed with phenomenal beauty. Her fair skin and her shiny, brunette hair were accentuated by her dark green eyes. But two of the biggest reasons to why I was so into her were planted right atop her chest—she was quite physically matured for her age. She also very snobbish and had quite the temper. I'd been called every name in the book by her and still kept coming back for more. As crazy as it seemed, her fiery attitude only added to my appeal for her. If only she knew how I felt about her...  
  
She'd probably just laugh in my face.  
  
  
Still, it was insane to me having such a gorgeous girl like that just a mere arm's length behind me. It was like everything that made her so damn appealing was sitting right there next to me, yet her unyielding displeasure for me kept me at bay and kept her so untouchable.  
  
The teacher was beginning his lesson. I couldn't even pay attention to him with thoughts of Jennifer swirling about in my head.  
  
I blankly stared at the teacher as he began to speak, yet I heard nothing. I was in the middle of wild fantasy about the beautiful girl behind me. Everyone else in the class faded my from my mind except her. I imagined myself getting to my feet in the lonely classroom, walking up to her and just tear her sweater and her blouse down the middle. She'd be stunned, unable to even react to such an action.  
  
I'd then pull her to her feet, my arm behind her back and kiss her deeply, passionately. She'd have no problem with it as I sat her down on the cold, two-person black marble tabletop and start to warm it up under her seat. I'd gently climb onto it with her as I lay her back, my body hunched over hers, grabbing for her breasts while I kissed her–  
  
  
The teacher suddenly tapped on the whiteboard to get everyone's attention, snapping me abruptly from my hormone-fueled daydream. I straightened my back as I sat up and exhaled sharply.  
  
I tried to quell the fantasy churning in my head as I turned my attention to what the teacher began writing on the board. I took my notebook and a pen from my backpack and opened the book after placing it on the table. But then, as I clicked my pen, the fantasy of Jennifer suddenly came back. As it rolled through my head from the beginning, I took note of the point where everyone else in class simply vanished. That's when the light bulb over my head turned on. My eyes grew wide as they lit up with excitement.  
  
Being distracted by the thought of Jennifer utterly naked caused me to forget about my awesome new power and the confidence that they had started to build up inside me. Naturally, It was all her fault; not mine.  
  
A crazy thought crossed my mind: What if I could use my new power to make my fantasies come true? Everyone in class 'vanishing' would be just the same as if I had stopped time. They can't hear me or see me, like they weren't even there.  
  
But, could I even do it? What if something goes wrong? What if it freaks her out? What if she doesn't even want to try?  
  
A million questions started floating around in my head. I knew I couldn't just go for it straight away—I had to be more clever and think it through.  
  
I took a moment to weigh my options and formulate an idea in my head. A bunch of different scenarios played out in my head and I tried my best to consider every possibility. At times, I couldn't help but be amazed at what I thought could happen. Little by little I worked out something that would be fun and exciting to try, while also having it all make sense.  
  
  
I was extremely nervous, but I had confidence in my incredible new power. I sighed sharply, keeping a cool head. I just had to wait until I was good and ready.  
  
Soon after, our incredibly 'exciting' teacher spoke up in his usual monotone voice.  
  
"All right, class," he began, "I want you to open your books and copy the facts highlighted with bullet points from pages two-hundred and three to two-hundred and seven." Some of the class groaned quietly as they all continued to murmur amongst each other whilst taking out their textbooks and opening them.  
  
This was it; that aforementioned moment I was waiting for. I smiled and inhaled in excitement.  
  
I followed the teacher's instructions and pulled out my textbook from my backpack, noticing Jennifer do the same from the corner of my eye. She may have been fiery-tempered, but she was still pretty focused when it came to her schoolwork.  
  
As the class began their assignment, the talking quieted down, setting the stage for my plan. I listened carefully as I sat back in my seat, hearing Jennifer's pencil quietly tapping and scribbling on her paper. My heart began to race and my palms sweat, my lips spreading into an eager grin as I kicked my idea into motion.  
  
I stopped time around myself and her, our chairs, pencils and papers. I wanted to keep everything appearing normal to her at first and not just immediately startle her into a heart attack.  
  
  
I contained my excitement as I continued on, casually reaching behind me and just barely brushed against her knee with my fingertips. She quickly swatted my hand away, looking up at me with her usual threatening glare before focusing back on her work. I looked around the class with a sense of wonder, everyone and everything frozen around us. I pressed on, rubbing my fingertips against her thigh. Again, I was quickly pushed away.  
  
I turned to her with a playful grin. She cut her eyes at me, looking as though she were about to snap her pencil in two.  
  
" **Stop** it, you asshole," she angrily muttered. "Turn around and leave me alone." She turned back to her work, sighing heavily in frustration. I couldn't help but chuckle quietly – her fevered responses were what I lived for. I knew her well enough to realize she was one or two more incidents away from completely losing her temper.  
  
  
I flipped my notebook to a blank sheet of paper and wrote a note on it, asking her ' _How big are your boobs?_ ' I snickered and folded it once, casually reaching behind me and letting it land in front of her. She huffed angrily, slamming her pencil down on the table which was usually enough to grab peoples' attentions. Incredibly, she was willing to entertain what I could've had to say to her and flipped it open. After reading it, she immediately crumpled it up and threw it at the back of my head.  
  
I grinned in amusement, letting her go back to working on her assignment. I looked around the room once more, amazed that she still had no idea what was happening all around her—or the lack thereof. She was so embroiled with her work that she didn't seem to care to make enough of a ruckus over being bothered by me. She just continued to write down on her paper, glancing between it and her textbook, whilst keeping a perturbed frown on her face.  
  
But then, she went to turn the page of her book, only to realize it had become as solid as cement.  
  
"What the fuck?" she muttered as she stared at the book, trying to force the page to turn.  
  
I knew there was no more turning back at that point and so I kept moving forward.  
  
She realized something wasn't right by then and I decided to distract her. I quickly turned my chair around with a smile upon my face as I put my feet up on her table.  
  
"Hey," I said, pulling her very bitter attention away from the textbook as she glared up at me. "If the assignment is too complicated, maybe we can play a game."  
  
She was completely incensed with me by then.  
  
She angrily mocked me as she responded, "What **game?** Is it called 'Stab you in the fucking face with my **pencil?** '" She was shouting, trying to gather up attention to herself from the teacher to try and deter me from bothering her further. It was her typical defense, only this time I wasn't backing down.  
  
"Actually, it's called 'Put up your feet and take a nice nap,'" I replied with an amused grin as I leaned back in my chair, closing my eyes and folding my hands behind my head with a content sigh. "I love this game."  
  
"You're such a fucking **idiot!** " she shouted, causing me to stifle a laugh. "Why the **fuck** is no one paying attention to this shit?!"  
  
  
She finally took a look around the room and what she saw completely shocked her.  
  
"What the... hell...?" she whispered in confusion. I watched her as she got up from her chair and quickly became concerned as she tried to shake her friend next to her, only to find that she wasn't moving at all.  
  
"Julie?" she uttered, visibly more worried as she began to pant fearfully. I stood up, smiling reassuringly at her as she looked to the teacher.  
  
I decided to try to talk her down a bit, "Hey, you know I–," but she silenced me when she ran from her chair, pushing me out of the way and rushed to the teacher.  
  
"Teacher?!" she asked in a panic, waving her hand in front of his face as he stared over the class. "Hello?!" She was panting even more fearfully than before, turning to the students in the front row and noting how motionless everyone was. Well, everyone except myself.  
  
  
"What the fuck's going on here?!" she shouted in a panic just before I approached her from the side with a reassuring grin. She was so fixated on everyone else that when turned to me, she gasped in fright.  
  
"Hey, calm down," I said, "there's no need to freak out."  
  
"Are you a fucking idiot?!" she shouted at me before rushing to the door. "That's a stupid question, of course you are." I chuckled and grinned in response. "Can you seriously not see something **fucked up** is going on here?!" She pulled at the doorknob, grunting with effort, but it was as immovable as everything and everyone else.  
  
I leaned on the table nearest the door, folding my arms across my chest and smiling calmly as I watched her turn around. She ran a shaking hand through her hair as she panted fearfully, her eyes bugged out as she looked around the room.  
  
"This is not happening," she breathily said, "this is not fucking happening. I'm not trapped in some fucking horror movie. This is all a dream or something." Her eyes lit up. "Yeah, this is a dream!" She then squinted her eyes closed. "Okay... I'm going to wake up now and I'm going to be in my bed where everyone is alive and not frozen stiff."  
  
I was amused, yet baffled. I didn't think at first that she would've reacted with such fright, though that was probably a giant miscalculation. My impression was that she'd see me as the only other animate person and instantly blame me for this. I'd never seen her so scared before, but I was confident I would make it right. While I could have returned everything to normal at any given second, I wasn't ready to back out on my idea just yet. I wanted to let it play out just a bit longer.  
  
  
She swallowed and panted heavily before she looked over at me. It was then that she noted my calm, collected demeanor. I smiled and waved playfully at her. She suspiciously narrowed her eyes at me and her respiration slowly began to relax.  
  
"Wait a minute," she said, keeping her eyes locked on me, "why the fuck are you so calm?" I just smirked and casually glanced down at my fingernails, making it more obvious to her. "Did you... did **you** do this?"  
  
I kept my eyes on my fingertips as I gave an offhanded reply to her.  
  
"Oh, yeah, I did it. It was nothing, really. Pretty cool, huh?" I looked up at her with an enthused grin a raised eyebrow. Jennifer was still in shock, although my relaxed demeanor seemed to help in calming her down. Inside, though, I was nervous as hell. Somehow I was finding an unknown confidence inside me I'd never harnessed before.  
  
  
"But... how?" she asked.  
  
"Well, uh," I replied, "I dunno. I mean, I just... made it happen."  
  
She was befuddled and then angered by that answer. "What do you mean you just ' **made** ' it happen?" I shrugged in response, unable to give her an answer. "How long have you been able to **do** this?"  
  
"Since this morning, actually," I casually replied. She was even more flabbergasted.  
  
"I don't..." she trailed off, unsure of what to even say. "This is the **craziest** shit I've **ever** seen," she added with a scoff as she looked around the room. "You froze everyone else... except me," she realized. "Well then, wait... why? Why did you even want to do this in the first place?"  
  
"Just take a look around," I said. "Everybody's all frozen like ice. We're talking and walking around while they have no idea what's going on. I bet we could do _anything_ we wanted...?" I added very suggestively.  
  
She looked at me with such intense disbelief, which then morphed into an amused scoff—she'd quickly caught on to me. She folded her arms across her chest as she shook her head.  
  
"You've got to be joking," she deadpanned. "You want to have _sex_ with me?"  
  
I chuckled. "We could also play Tic-tac-toe and 'Connect Four' on the board," I said with a grin. "But, having sex was also an idea that _might_ have crossed my mind."  
  
She mocked me with an arrogant smirk. "'Might have crossed your mind,' my ass. That's the _only_ reason you did this."  
  
  
"And," I began as I got off the table and started to approach her, "what if it was?"  
  
She stayed put, turning her head away from me and pursing her lips in annoyance. "What makes you think I even _want_ to do that? With **you**?" The way she looked over at me with those beautiful eyes was so curious, I could only imagine she was eager to find out what I would do next.  
  
"Well~," I playfully said as I stood before her, "because I really don't think you hate me nearly as much you want me to believe. In fact, I think you _like_ it when I bother you and touch your body."  
  
She seemed slightly offended by my remark. "Ugh," she scoffed, a slight smirk appearing on the corner of her mouth. "You are such a perverted **bastard**. It's a lot easier to hate you than you realize."  
  
"Oh yeah?" I inquisitively asked. "Do you hate when I do **this**?" I added as placed both hands on her hips and drew them up her sides. "Huh?"  
  
"Don't touch me," she spat, swatting my hands away. I looked into her bright eyes and saw how filled with excitement they were. It caused me to immediately come back for more.  
  
"How about when I do this?" I asked as I pressed my fingertips into her belly and tickled her hard. She let a tiny laugh slip, immediately covering her mouth to wipe her smile away. With her other hand she pushed mine away as she backed off.  
  
"Sto-op," she remarked with an inadvertent chuckle. She then sucked her teeth and stomped her foot on the ground to compose herself again.  
  
  
In that moment, it was so much more obvious to me how she really felt about me.  
  
"This is **really** exciting isn't it?" I asked with a big grin. She casually brushed her lip to hide another smirk as she looked away from me. "In class, middle of the day, and we can get away with anything we want with no one to stop us?"  
  
She slowly looked back at me and sighed. "... Maybe it's a **little** exciting," she admitted with a slight smile that quickly faded. "But that doesn't mean I automatically want to 'do it' with you. I hate you and you probably have a... tiny little penis that can only be seen by a magnifying glass anyway," she added by briefly glancing at my crotch.  
  
I leaned in and amorously spoke, "You could always find out." She scoffed again, shaking her head in disbelief at me. She thought for a moment about the entire situation and of my demeanor toward her.  
  
  
"I want to strangle you **so** badly for doing this," she remarked.  
  
"You can strangle _part_ of me," I suggestively replied. "It's pointing at you right now."  
  
"God, you are such an arrogant asshole," she said as she grit her teeth to try and hide a grin. "You're the biggest piece of shit and the **worst** person I've ever met." She continued to berate me as I smiled, slowly and casually putting my arms around her lower back. "I wish you could just... drop off the face of the earth so I never have to see your ugly face ever again."  
  
She didn't seem to pay any mind as I held her a bit tighter. "But then, if I dropped off the face of the earth... we couldn't do _this_ ," I said before leaning in and gently pressing my lips over her own. She quietly sighed and offered no resistance as she kissed me back. Her arms unraveled from her chest, placing her hands on my shoulders. I eased her back toward the wall, gently pressing her against it just as her lips parted from my own. We stood there for just a moment, panting softly while looking deeply into each others' eyes.  
  
"You're the worst person I've ever met...," she quietly remarked as her hands gently stroked my cheeks. "I hate everything about you. I hate your stupid clothes, your stupid face, your stupid smile. ...You're a bastard and I hate your guts."  
  
"I love it when you talk dirty to me," I replied in a husky voice before our lips mingled together once again. Her hands slid down to my shoulders again as I listened to her sigh in content. Pretty soon, I pressed my lips more implicitly over hers and took her into a much deeper kiss.  
  
  
I was scared to death at that point, I had no idea where the hell I was getting such a ridiculous amount of confidence from. It was my first, real kiss with a girl and it was with Jennifer—I was in complete elation. In the back of my mind I was in sheer disbelief that I was kissing this gorgeous girl, while at the forefront I kept myself calm and collected. I had no idea how well I was kissing her, but the sound of her soft, content moans against my lips seemed to be a decent hint.  
  
Eagerness and amazement surged through me. Her lips were so soft, carrying the delicately sweet taste of whatever lip balm she had on. I took in the sweet scent of her perfume, elated by the fact that she'd taken over all of my senses. Her body was so soft and warm, finding myself unconsciously holding her tightly against me to draw in more of her warmth.  
  
The silence all around us amplified the sound of our breaths and our lips smacking together. Jennifer placed her hands on my shoulders as we kissed with a deeper intimacy than before. I, too, began to quietly moan as I pressed into her warm, plush lips over and over again. My hands came down from the wall and I wrapped my arms around her lower back, pulling her closer to me which helped to deepen the bond between our mouths.  
  
She sighed in pleasure as she lifted a hand to gently cup my cheek, her touch creating a spark of elation inside me. I was so amazed to be sharing such an intimate moment with a girl that I'd been so enamored with for months; a girl that seemingly hated me with an undying passion. Yet, the only passion either of us felt at that moment was from the amicable warmth we shared.  
  
  
Our lips smacked and slid in unison as we tilted our heads from side to side, breathing all over each other, both of us unyielding in our session of lip-wrestling. She very briefly pulled away at points to catch her breath which had become hot, and to look at me as though to remind herself that this was really happening. She was so warm, so soft and so docile in that state.  
  
Soon, we pulled away from each other almost in sync. Both of us uttered a deep sigh as we panted softly and gazed into each others' eyes once more. Her green eyes shimmered with excitement, just as mine did.  
  
"I can't believe I'm letting you do this," she breathily remarked. I let out an airy chuckle.  
  
"Don't act like you never fantasized about doing this with me," I remarked with a smirk.  
  
"I've never fantasized about you even once," she haughtily replied. "Not like _you_ do."  
  
I casually admitted, "Oh, I've dreamed about this moment many, many times—day and night."  
  
"Oh, shut up," she replied with a slight grin.  
  
"Even during class sometimes," I went on. She scoffed. "Doesn't that turn you on to know that I've been just a few feet away from you, daydreaming about your naked body?"  
  
"Can I strangle you now?" she asked with a curious tilt of her head. "It won't take very long."  
  
  
I smiled, ignoring her remark as I reached up to her face with one hand. I gently folded her hair behind her ear and delicately brushed her cheek. Both of us stared unblinkingly as we shared a never-before-felt moment of warm serenity between us.  
  
"You're so beautiful, Jennifer..." I quietly remarked. "You seriously are. And it probably sounds crazy, but I really like spending time and being with you."  
  
She remained quiet for a moment, her eyes shifting back and forth as she gauged my expression.  
  
"... My God, you really mean that," she softly replied.  
  
I smirked deviously. "I'm as real right now as the boner in my pants I have for you."  
  
She scoffed and grinned. "I fucking hate you so much!" she exclaimed as we shared a brief laugh.  
  
"And you think I'm good-looking too, don't you?"  
  
"Shut up," she responded, rolling her eyes.  
  
"Go on, just admit it," I provoked her with a grin.  
  
"I said, 'shut up.' You're already getting what you want, aren't you, ' _lover boy_?'" she playfully asked.  
  
I shook my head in disagreement just as she looked away from me. "No, no, not really. I want to hear you tell me what you **really** think of me." She turned her attention back to me. "Be honest."  
  
She gazed down at my chest with a sigh. "Well...," she slowly spoke up. "...I think you're a _bastard_ , but... you're a cute bastard. And you're not a bad kisser." I chuckled, taking her remark as a compliment. "I just... wish you would relax more and just be normal."  
  
She looked into my eyes with a sense of pure honesty that I'd never seen before. I nodded to her.  
  
"For you, I'll gladly do that..." I whispered as my face leaned in toward hers. She happily clasped her lips around mine, our lips dancing around one another, picking up where we left off earlier.  
  
  
We moaned softly against each other as our kiss quickly became something much more hot and fervid. Something about letting our emotions show made us both so much hungrier for one another. We were both certain about what we wanted to do with each other and so, the temperature quickly began to rise.  
  
However I kept her in suspense, not willing to go any further just yet. I gently rubbed her lower back as we kissed with an increasing tension. We pushed deeply and quickly, almost diving into each others' lips whilst panting heavily all over one another.  
  
Jennifer's body seemed to tense up the longer our wildly passionate kiss went on. She displayed her eagerness to move further when she reached down and grabbed the hem of my shirt. I quickly grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the wall, kissing her even more fervently.  
  
She moaned and weakly fought against me for a brief moment before giving in and then encouraging me to kiss other parts of her body by tilting her head away from me. I mindlessly did as she tacitly asked me to, grazing my lips across her cheek and kissing under her chin. She greeted me by tilting her head back, allowing me to kiss her exposed neck. I'd always fantasized about having my first time with her in a bed together, under the cover of midnight's darkness. But beggars couldn't be choosers, and this was way more enthralling than I could've ever dreamed.  
  
I very quickly began to lave my tongue up her neck, all the way to her chin over and over again; drawing quiet, guttural moans from her in approval.  
  
"Oh, yeah...," she whispered, both of us becoming lost in a heady daze.  
  
  
She kept her wrists to the wall as I let go of them to eagerly grab the hem of her sweater, pulling it and her blouse up her body and off her arms with her help. I tossed the garments away and gave but a mere glance to her newly exposed flesh before suddenly taking her into my arms once again and pressing my lips over hers.  
  
Our kiss was shallow and brief, both of us panting heavily as I kissed and licked my way down to her neck once more. At the same time, my hands worked to unhook the back clasp of Jennifer's bra but it was a new concept to me. I was as erect as I was ever going to get at that point, my throbbing shaft trying to rip through the crotch of my jeans.  
  
Once I solved the puzzle of her bra, I tried to keep my cool as I pulled it away from her body and allowed her to drop it off of her arms. I was quickly finding it more and more difficult to keep control of myself and to not tear her clothes off.  
  
With her half-nude, I took hold of her wrists and once again pinned them to the wall as I amorously kissed and licked her neck.  
  
"Please," she lustfully uttered, "don't make me wait..."  
  
With that mesmerizing tone of voice, I couldn't ignore such a request. I quickly, yet steadily, kissed my way down to her collarbone and then to the soft flesh of her ample breasts.  
  
She sighed in pleasure as I found myself able to take the time to calmly explore her wondrous appendages. She continued to keep her wrists against the wall as I wrapped one arm around her upper back to pull her chest closer to me. My other hand grasped the side of her breast, slowly kissing and laving my tongue around both of them, all while she panted and moaned softly in response.  
  
They were so warm, soft, supple and looked so much better than I could've imagined. Their warm scent was intoxicating and caused me to bring my other hand around to clasp them both. They had a weight that felt so perfect in my hands. I squeezed them tight and parted them away from each other as I ran my tongue up and down their cleft; her breasts pressing into my cheeks.  
  
I drew my tongue up to one of their peaks, hearing Jennifer gasp as I began circling my tongue around her areola. I then listened to her moan in pleasure as I collapsed my lips around her nipple. I sucked on it gently at first, toying with it using my tongue. At the same time, my thumb worked to brush and toy with her other nipple.  
  
  
I began to suck fervently at it, my lips sliding over the soft flesh of her appendage as I pulled more of it into my mouth and sucked hard. She moaned with increasing heat, louder and louder until I suddenly let it pop out of my mouth. She sighed quietly, glancing down at me for just a brief moment as I moved to her other nipple to give it the same treatment.  
  
As I took Jennifer's nipple into my mouth and began to suck on it, I moved a hand down to her jean-covered ass and squeezed it. I sucked hard upon her nipple, flicking wildly at it with my tongue, her moans becoming higher-pitched cries—airy and passionate.  
  
I reached down with both hands while she cried out in intensifying elation, eagerly undoing her tight jeans and tugging them down to her thick thighs just as her breast popped out of my mouth.  
  
I looked down at what I was doing, kneeling down and taking down her panties by their hem as well. I watched them tug away from between her legs as though they'd been stuck there. The visible spot on her panties made me realize just how wet she was and seeing it unconsciously drove me even wilder.  
  
  
She helped step out of her jeans and panties, unable to help her shoes from coming off as well but she didn't seem to care. I took a brief moment to gaze up at Jennifer standing completely nude before me—It was my fantasy come true.  
  
She'd let her hands fall at her sides as I faced forward and rubbed her silky legs with infatuation. I then slid forward, guiding her thigh toward me at the same time as she lifted it up over my shoulder and suddenly found myself inches away from her slick, swollen pussy.  
  
The intoxicating scent was beyond anything I could've imagined. It overwhelmed me in an instant, drawing me in like a bee to honey. Almost immediately, I found myself closing my eyes and mindlessly laving my tongue over the length of her folds. What resounded from her lips was the most gorgeous sound of utter delight I'd ever heard, enough to send a shiver up my spine.  
  
I licked her over and over again just to hear the sweet sounds of lust emanate from the deepest recess of her throat. She held a hand behind my head, gazing down at me in endless amazement from the pleasure I was giving her. Her other hand clenched her breast tightly, alternating between tossing her head back with a cry of pleasure and watching my face shoved comfortably between her thick thighs as she panted heavily.  
  
  
I cleaned the sweet flavor off Jennifer's folds and then began to circle my tongue around the silky pink flesh between them.  
  
"Oh, god...," she lustfully uttered. Her body began to slowly writhe and jerk before me, unconsciously grinding her pussy against my lips. I had never seen one up close before and yet I worked my tongue like I'd been there countless times.  
  
I rapidly flicked my tongue up and down inside of her thick, sensitive slit. My actions drew loud moans from her, but none as loud as when I grazed against her swollen clitoris.  
  
I unconsciously moved up and focused my attention there, slipping my lips over the tiny yet ultra-sensitive bud and giving it a slow, long lick. She moaned and panted sharply in response before I began flicking at her clit with the tip of my tongue. She swallowed and grabbed a fistful of my hair, her chest heaving up and down, moaning at the top of her lungs to the ceiling.  
  
My hands gently caressed her thighs while my tongue mercilessly attacked her clit. I looked up in awe as her gorgeous body endlessly snaked and twisted against me. I began to quietly moan along with her, the vibration of my voice only serving to amplify her pleasure.  
  
"Ohh, yes!!" she cried out. "Right there! Don't stop! **Ohh~!!** "  
  
Her body shuddered and jerked hard, wringing my hair in her hand. Every muscle in her body tensed up as she reached her climax with a long, intermittent cry of ecstasy; her fluids cascading down her inner thighs and spilled onto the floor. I didn't know when to stop licking her until she pushed my head away, causing me to finally break from her protruding clit.  
  
  
I got to my feet and pulled Jennifer against me once more until her body stopped spasming and she gradually came back down to earth. She leaned against me for support, joining her other hand behind my head.  
  
"How are you so good?" she breathily asked. "How are you this fucking good?" I had no idea how to answer, so I just grinned as she held dual fistfuls of my hair. The two of us then shared another fervent kiss. Our lips loudly smacked together, panting against each other in heated passion.  
  
As we kissed, our bodies somehow switched positions and it was then that I found myself as the one propped against the wall.  
  
Her lips pulled away from mine and she looked into my eyes with an intense gaze. She grabbed the hem of my shirt and finally got the opportunity to take it off after being denied earlier. I lifted my arms to help her out and she tossed it aside just as I'd done with her clothes.  
  
  
Jennifer calmly ran her soft hands and her manicured fingernails up and down my bare chest for a moment before moving down to my abdomen. There, she took hold of my belt buckle and began to slowly unclasp it as she looked up at me.  
  
"Now," she said as she undid my jeans, "let me get a good look at your tiny, limp little dick. I wouldn't be surprised if you don't even have one."  
  
I kept a big grin on my face, hoping that she would be pleasantly surprised with what she found. She pulled down my pants and I stepped out of them, kicking them aside. She didn't waste time with studying the tent pole in my boxers before she pulled them down. A grin spread across her face at what she saw.  
  
She took my hardened, throbbing manhood in her hand and began to slowly stroke it. I groaned softly in pleasure. I'd never experienced the luxury of having a woman jerk me before, and having Jennifer do it was incredible. It was the most pleasant biology lesson I'd had all year.  
  
There, I got a Biology class pun in.  
  
She didn't say anything at first as she continued watching my cock as she stroked it. She then looked at me with an arrogant smirk.  
  
"Not bad," she quietly remarked.  
  
"Sometimes it's good to be wrong," I playfully said.  
  
  
Then, to my surprise, she then dropped to her knees. I watched in amazement as she opened her mouth and began swirling her tongue around the head of my shaft. I uttered a few quiet sighs of pleasure before moaning quietly as she slid her lips down it and took me into her mouth. She didn't seem interested in wasting anymore time and I wasn't complaining.  
  
She rested her hands on my thighs as Jennifer bobbed her head back and forth, slowly at first, taking in as much of me as she could without gagging. It was the most mind-blowing pleasure I'd ever felt in my life.  
  
"Ahh, Jennifer...," I uttered, awe-struck. She chuckled at how honest I was being. I held a hand to the back of her head as she then moaned softly and increased her tempo.  
  
I felt droplets of my cum starting to spill onto her tongue. Pleasure swirled through me as she let me explore the heady warmth and wetness and pressure inside her mouth. It rapidly became more intense as she unrelentingly kept going. I groaned and panted louder, more intensely, my head tilting back as I let the pleasure overtake me. I wasn't sure how long I was going to last.  
  
Almost as if she read my mind, she removed my manhood from her mouth with a loud sigh. She then took my saliva-covered length and began jerking it as hard and as fast as she'd been sucking on me. She gazed up at me, my eyes and teeth clenched as she I struggled through the intense pleasure. The pressure in my loins was rapidly escalating. There was no way I could hold back much longer.  
  
  
And then, her hand calmly fell away as though nothing had happened. When I opened my eyes with a sigh I was initially disappointed and thought she was trying to tease me or get me riled up.  
  
I looked at her, noticing Jennifer was crawling back to her sweater. She sprawled it out neatly on the floor before sitting on it and laying an elbow back. With her other hand, she coaxed me over with a single finger and a devious smirk before parting her legs open and spreading the folds of her wet cunt open for me to look inside.  
  
I was unable to resist such an invitation and, within seconds, I was propped on all fours over her. She greeted me with another quick, passionate kiss as she laid back on the sweater and I shifted myself down to her level. She wrapped an arm around my lower back, pulling me closer as I grasped my red-hot penis with a trembling eagerness. There was certainly no turning back anymore.  
  
  
Our lips parted and we both gazed down to see what I was doing. I eagerly aimed myself forward, my cock acting like a dowsing rod magnetized toward the fluids dripping between her legs.  
  
I hit my mark and began to slowly push inside her. We both uttered long groans of bliss while she continued to pull me toward her, her folds parting; giving way to my entry. The sensation I felt–sinking deeper into her hot, throbbing, velvety confines that shifted and stretched tight around me–was mythical. I lost myself in the moment and truly believed I was entering a completely different plane of reality–one where only heat and pleasure existed.  
  
A moment's time passed–or maybe it didn't since we were frozen in it. What seemed like a split second later, I was completely immersed in Jennifer's heavenly heat. I opened my eyes to find her looking back up at me with the most alluring gaze I'd ever seen. I was really inside of her.  
  
She held both hands to my lower back, her body shifting with an eagerness that I completely shared. I could've never fantasized how amazing it felt inside of her. It was the most sublime pleasure.  
  
To coin a phrase, I couldn't believe this was happening.  
  
  
I felt a bit pressured to perform well, even though it was only my first time. I pulled back with a shaky sigh and then shared a deep groan with her as I pushed inside again. She ecstatically went along with me for the ride as I began pushing and pulling my hips, working up a gradual rhythm that wasn't too strenuous. I tilted my head back to the ceiling, groaning in hot passion as I experienced the most unbelievable sensual euphoria that rushed from my head to my toes in an endless cycle.  
  
The level of intimacy I felt with her was beyond anything I could've imagined. I thought sex was just sex, but she showed me and I learned quickly that it was much more than that.  
  
I soon found myself reveling in the glory of pushing into her tight, throbbing heat. At first I just focused on keeping my hips in a steady rhythm that drew louder, more intense cries of splendor from of my beautiful lover's lips. Hearing her voice in such incredible lust sent goosebumps through my body. Eventually I caved in to the indescribable pleasure she gave me, and it overwhelmed me in a heartbeat. I felt her free a hand to stir up her clitoris with, but I paid no mind to it as I was lost in my own world. The realization that I was having sex with such a gorgeous girl whom I'd dreamed of for months was earth-shattering.  
  
Jennifer's muscles held me unimaginably tight. I had a hard enough time trying to hold myself back from climaxing earlier, but at that point it became laborious. Intense heat radiated through my body. All I was able to hear over my own, mindless, lustful panting was her beautiful voice and the rhythmic slapping of our hot skin as our bodies united in rapture again and again.  
  
Being inside of her was amazing; taking her was a completely different story. She was absolutely captivated, and so was I. Her writhing, jerking body and hungry cries begged for me not to stop as I continued to incessantly push my hips into her own. I glanced down at the point our bodies were united at, entranced at the sight of her thick folds and the pink flesh beneath pulling and pushing in time with me.  
  
  
Jennifer bit down on her knuckle, moaning relentlessly, tossing her head from side to side. Both of us were lost in torturous heat as our bodies loudly slapped together without respite. She reached up and grabbed my shoulders in both hands, her mouth open wide as she cried out at the top of her lungs in euphoric delight. Just like before, her body tensed up, her breathing at a feverish pace, her pleasure coming to a head. Her immaculate walls shifted uncontrollably as a rush of hot fluid poured out of her and onto the tile; just missing her sweater.  
  
She trembled and jerked hard as she climaxed more intensely than the first time; letting out a long, loud sigh of satisfaction as she came down from her high.  
  
Watching Jennifer orgasm beneath me was the final bit of excitement I could handle. There was no holding myself back, I absolutely needed to cum—and she knew it when I began to thrust harder, my voice hitting a higher pitch.  
  
"Don't you... c-cum inside me!!" she exclaimed, still reeling from her orgasm. "I swear to g-god, I will fucking k-kill you!" There was no way I could ignore a request from her when her voice got all angry like that.  
  
I couldn't hold back a fraction of a second longer, and I quickly pulled out of her, grabbing hold of my cum-soaked cock just as I erupted onto the tile as she did. I panted and groaned sharply, my body shuddering hard as I milked the rest out of me. My entire body throbbed with hot pleasure, releasing a torrent of white spurts that amalgamated into the most intense climax I'd ever had.  
  
  
Once I'd finished, I rested my forearms on the floor beside her. We both rested and caught our breath as the reality of what we did began to settle in.  
  
I had no idea where all that sexual ability and confidence that surged through me had come from—but I liked it a lot.  
  
I opened my eyes and she opened hers. The two of us stared at each other for just a moment. Our breathing had relaxed, though neither of us said a word. Then, we suddenly broke out a couple of big grins and shared a brief laugh together.  
  
  
"Ohh, my god...," I breathed. "I can't believe that just happened."  
  
She humphed as she gripped my shoulders tighter, causing me to wince a bit. "How do you think **I** feel?"  
  
"I imagine you feel pretty good right now, actually," I said with a sly grin. She shook her head and sighed.  
  
"I hate you **so** much..." she remarked as she leaned in for a kiss.  
  
"Of course you do," I sarcastically replied before our lips mingled for just a moment. I then added, "You still have such beautiful eyes."  
  
"Thanks," she quietly replied. "Now, maybe we should get dressed?"  
  
"You got it," I said, getting to my feet and then offered my hand to her. She smirked and took my hand, allowing me to help her to her feet.  
  
  
We then sorted through our fallen clothes, getting her to laugh again as we picked up each others' garments and threw them at each other. As we dressed ourselves, I couldn't help but feel so much closer to her after such an incredible experience.  
  
Once we were dressed, and she had put on her shoes again, she looked around as though searching for something.  
  
"What is it?" I asked.  
  
"We need some paper towels or something," she said, walking over to the teacher's desk, "to clean all _that_ up," she said as she pointed at the floor.  
  
"Oh yeah," I remarked. I was just glad she was smarter than I was. She went for a small stack of paper towels on the desk, used for cleaning up any messes from biology experiments. I felt that our situation fit perfectly into that category.  
  
I walked over to Jennifer when it became obvious she couldn't pick them up due to them being time-frozen.  
  
"God, that's annoying," she remarked. "Can't wait to get back to normal life after this bullshit."  
  
I chuckled and touched the paper towels, making the entire stack tangible again. She smirked, impressed by the trick. She quickly picked off a few of them and went over to drop them on the floor and clean up the mess using her feet.  
  
  
I approached her as she began to speak. "You know, you actually are really cute."  
  
"Oh yeah?" I asked with a grin.  
  
"Your appearance is just... disarming. You seem like a sweet guy to talk to, but sometimes you can be a real dick to deal with." I sighed quietly with a smile upon my face and nodded.  
  
"I feel like this is as good a time as any to apologize," I said. She curiously raised her eyebrows as she turned to me. "I know that I can really... you know, piss you off at times. Doing that doesn't exactly make me the smartest guy around, but... I really respect you Jennifer. You've got loads of personality and you're way cooler than most of the other girls in school."  
  
"Well, thanks," she replied with a smile before focusing back on cleaning up. "It's actually pretty cool of you to admit that."  
  
I grinned as I clapped my hands and rubbed them together. "Awesome. So that means _we're_ cool now, right?"  
  
She gave me an amused chuckle. "Maybe we are," she remarked. "I feel like I understand you a **hell** of a lot better than I ever did before."  
  
I was more than okay with that response.  
  
  
I sighed in content. "That was so... crazy awesome, amazing, I... I don't even know how to explain it." She chuckled in amusement. "That was one hell of a first time."  
  
Her head suddenly lifted from the ground and toward me. "... First time?" she asked with a confused scoff. "What are you talking about?  
  
I looked her dead in the eyes and said, "That was... my first time, ya know, 'doing it?' Having sex? That thing we just did together?"  
  
She was dumbfounded. "Are you–yeah, right."  
  
"No, I'm serious!" I replied with a laugh. "That was really my first time."  
  
  
She shook her head in disbelief. "Wow, damn... you're pretty good." I was elated to hear her say that. I grinned as I grabbed a couple more paper towels and went over to help her clean up just the same as she was. "I bet with a little experience, you could be an **amazing** lover. Part of that, though, is to treat girls like actual people instead of things to piss off, and if you just learn how to talk to girls like a normal person then you wouldn't believe how far you'd get. I mean, **I** just went all the way with you."  
  
"Well, yeah," I looked up from cleaning the floor as I replied with a sly smile, "that's because of how charming and irresistible I am." Jennifer laughed as she picked up the paper towels at her feet, walking over to the nearby trash bin and throwing them away.  
  
"You have a little bit of that," she replied with a smirk of her own. "Always compliment girls—not just on how they look, but on who they are as well. You need to just man up, be confident, and go in for the **kill**."  
  
I picked up the paper towels at my feet and threw them away as well. "You make it sound like a nature show."  
  
"Well, we **are** nothin' but mammals, right?" she asked with a chuckle. "Just remember that girls can't resist a good distraction from the drama of their relationship. Even if they're in a good place with their man, there's no reason they wouldn't want to spice things up a bit. All you need to do is be fluent in flirting."  
  
"Sounds simple enough," I replied before adding, "... I think."  
  
  
The two of us stood there for a moment and it allowed me to really take the time to admire her. She was so incredible, so smart, so sexy, so pleasant. In a word, she was awesome. All I wanted to do at that moment was be right there with her.  
  
"I have to say...," I remarked, "you're actually pretty awesome to talk to – like a ' **normal** person,' anyway."  
  
"So are you," she replied. "I'm glad I got to see this side of you. You're pretty cool when you can just relax and be yourself."  
  
I then acted on the compulsion to throw my arms outward, causing Jennifer to snicker and walk toward me. I welcomed her into my arms and me into hers. We sighed almost in unison as we shared a few moments of tranquility in each others' embrace. It felt like the most perfect way to cap off my first time with a girl.  
  
  
She then broke the silence. "I don't want this to change things between us," she admitted. "You were right earlier. I actually do kind of... **enjoy**... having you bother me. It just feels like the norm."  
  
"Well, if that's the case," I replied, "I can't wait to go back to pissing you off and ruining your day."  
  
"Neither can I," she replied as she pulled away enough to look into my eyes. "I don't want you to _ever_ change who you are, got it?"  
  
"You're very persuasive," I remarked, causing her to grin. "I got it."  
  
"Good," she said as she rubbed my back. She then a brief look around the room. "Now, maybe we could finally get back to real life?"  
  
"Sounds like a good idea."  
  
The two of us then parted ways and I followed her down the aisle, both of us slipping back into our assigned seats.  
  
  
She quickly pulled out a hairbrush from her backpack and took a brief moment to straighten her hair with it. She then put it away before picking up her pencil from the table. She adjusted herself back into her position before she realized time had frozen and waited for me. I looked back at her one more time. She looked up at me and smiled.  
  
"Whenever you're ready," she said.  
  
I smiled to her before turning back to my work. I took hold of my pencil and sighed in content. I didn't feel disappointed at all that we had to go back to our boring, old classwork—not after the amazing, satisfying experience we shared. I blinked my eyes and our ears were immediately greeted with the familiar sounds of pencils scratching against papers. It was nostalgic, enough to make Jennifer chuckle.  
  
"Shh," someone nearby shushed her.  
  
"You 'shh,'" she shot back.  
  
  
I smiled to myself as I focused on my work for once. It was far less exciting than sex, but I was still on cloud nine. I had the fortune of enjoying my first time having sex with a gorgeous girl that I'd only dreamed about having, and I knew I would always keep that experience close to me. Yeah, it kind of sappy bullshit, but I couldn't help feeling pretty sappy after bonding with her on a much deeper, emotional level than I could've ever imagined.  
  
I was elated to get to connect with her deeper. A fantasy about having sex with her is just sex—getting to know her for who she is was so much more personal. She showed me such different facets of her personality that I'd never seen before. That, and the chat we had, really gave me new perspective on the opposite sex. I was beyond satisfied both in body and mind.  
  
That being said, though, it didn't take the cheeky jerk out of me. I brought my pencil back and sneakily pressed the eraser against her knee until she kicked me away.  
  
"Stop it," she whispered, drawing an amused snicker out of me. Things were finally good between us. I hoped it would always remain that way.  
  
  
I was surprisingly engrossed in my work. So much so that when the bell rang for lunch, it caught me completely off-guard. I started to pack away all of my belongings into my backpack. As I was doing so, I felt a hand brush my arm and quickly looked up to see Jennifer casually smile down at me before walking off with the other students.  
  
I sighed dreamily, staring at her like a mindless goof and then zipped up my bag before leaving it at the table.  
  
I departed class feeling incredibly refreshed. Life was absolutely amazing—I felt like I was on top of the world. Between this new, amazing power to freeze time and the mind-blowing sex with Jennifer, I was like a whole new person.  
  
I didn't care how clogged the mass of students was or whose nasty body odor smacked my nose like a pungent demon. For once I didn't feel like I was just another face in the crowd walking around like a mindless zombie. I felt really confident without having an unwarranted sense of cockiness. I was just... happy, euphoric; like I was in a good place in my life. Being able to go all the way with Jennifer, of all people, made me feel like **anything** was possible.  
  
  
I headed to lunch to grab my usual cafeteria food. Say what you will about school lunches, but I loved the hell out of them. People knock on cafeteria food all the time and swear it's the worst thing they've ever eaten. All that meant was more food for me, bitches.  
  
With my tray of a chicken patty sandwich and fries, I headed for my usual seat at the far end of the cafeteria with the same group of friends I'd talked to that morning.  
  
"Hey, guys," I greeted them as I sat down.  
  
"Hey, man," Frank spoke up, the others following suit with their own greetings. Frank then continued on with a story he was telling while I bit into my burger.  
  
"So I told the guy, 'Hey man, get out of my seat.' Then all of a sudden, the teacher just **yells** as loud as he can, 'Both of you sit your asses down!'" We all chuckled at varying levels in response. "The whole class was trying not to laugh. Oh man, it was great."  
  
Josh then turned his attention to me. "How's your day going, Anthony?"  
  
"Wow, you–" I stopped myself as I was about to blurt out what happened between Jennifer and myself. I quickly realized keeping it a secret was in my best interest. After all, how would they even believe me?  
  
  
I changed demeanor as I eased back in my seat, relaxed, my voice remaining optimistic. "It was pretty good, actually," I said.  
  
"Oh yeah?" the sole female member of our small group spoke. "That's a change from the usual 'eh, nuthin'...'"  
  
"You're adorable, Nora," I replied with an amused smirk. "Never, ever change."  
  
"Well, thank you," she said. "I try my best."  
  
She gave me this delightfully playful grin that I couldn't help but chuckle at. Nora was cute, but she was super geeky. I wasn't really into her, but being a teenager with teenager hormones I still fantasized at least once about every girl at school. Yes, even her.  
  
  
The entirety of our lunch together was spent talking about the stuff we usually talk about: video games, anime, the meager goings-on of the internet back then. As we talked I started to notice my new, calmer demeanor became more and more noticeable. I was far more relaxed and laid back as compared to my usual jolly, excitable self.  
  
It got to the point where someone had to address the elephant in the room.  
  
"Are you feeling okay, Anthony?" Nora curiously asked. "You seem... different."  
  
I was taken aback, although pleasantly so. "Different in a bad way?"  
  
"No," she replied, showing some intrigue, "it's interesting."  
  
That's when the fifth and final member of our group, Brandon, spoke up. "Anthony's just becoming a brother like us," he said, referencing the fact that the other three boys in our group were black whereas Nora and I were not.  
  
"Oh, shut up," she replied, reaching behind Frank to playfully shove his arm.  
  
"Next thing you know," Brandon went on, "boy's gonna be six-foot-two, two-twenty-five and totally ripped from head to toe." We all shared a laugh.  
  
"I'll believe that when I see it," Frank remarked.  
  
"Same," Nora added with a grin as she looked over at me. I couldn't help but get the sense that she was really getting into me. That, or she was just messing with me like she usually did.  
  
  
Then, Josh looked down at his wristwatch. "Looks like lunch is over in a couple minutes."  
  
"Aw, damn," Brandon remarked as we all began to get up from the table.  
  
"Well guys," Frank spoke up, "see you tomorrow if we don't meet up after school?"  
  
Nora slung her little insulated lunch bag over her shoulder. "Yeah, I gotta get some serious studying done so I'll see you guys tomorrow."  
  
"Cool," Brandon said before sarcastically adding, "guess I'll just walk home alone again." The others snickered as Nora playfully shoved him again.  
  
I figured it was time for me to take my leave. "See ya, guys," I said.  
  
"Later, Anthony," Frank said as he and the others went one way and I went off on my own.  
  
  
Though they were my tightest clique of friends at school, I'd only known Frank and Josh for a couple years when I met them in middle school. Nora followed sometime after when she just sort of appeared as one of Frank's friends. As for Brandon, I only met him at the beginning of the school year after being introduced by Frank. They all seemed to know each other far more than I knew any of them, but I was fine with that.  
  
After heading back to class and subsequently bothering Jennifer several times, I reflected for a moment on Nora. She was a pretty mysterious girl, but not very full of surprises. From what I knew, she apparently had a boyfriend but I never pried enough to get the whole story since I didn't really care.  
  
  
Before I knew it, Biology was over and it was time to move onto my last class for the day: English. I remembered Jennifer saying she didn't want me to change for anything, I couldn't help but remember how intrigued Nora was by my new demeanor. Was it too far-fetched to think that I hadn't actually changed; that perhaps my 'new' demeanor was actually me all along?  
  
I spent the rest of my day keeping myself interested in my English work instead of being bored to tears by it and just having laid back conversation with my classmates. Given the great mood I was in, I had to admit I was having more fun in that one day at school than I had the entire year.  
  
People had begun to take notice of my new persona and were just starting to warm up to me more than ever before. I felt so on top of the world that nothing could possibly knock me down.  
  
  
I was almost disappointed when the final bell rang and school was done for the day. I slung my backpack over my shoulders and departed from English class, which was unfortunately on the second floor. It was going to take ages to get outside with the overwhelming rush of students psyched that school was over. I then smirked and hummed thoughtfully before blinking and causing time to freeze.  
  
"V.I.P. coming through!" I remarked with a laugh as I dashed past everyone's immobile bodies and headed down the stairs.  
  
Once I reached the first floor, I suddenly heard an odd whispering in my ear. I idly rubbed my ear for a moment to get rid of the weird noise, chalking it up to nothing. I then made it to the front of the herd, let myself out the door to the bus stop and resumed time. The rest of the students all started pouring out of the doors behind me, no one the wiser as I was the first one onto my bus. I took my usual seat towards the back and settled in with a relaxed sigh.  
  
  
As the bus carried us home, I idly watched the sights go by with a content smile on my face. I gazed up at some birds going by, and resumed my little game I'd played earlier that morning by freezing them and un-freezing them continuously. But then I wondered what would happen if I'd just kept those birds frozen in the air forever. What would people think? Would the police come to investigate? Then the government shows up to analyze it?  
  
Luckily enough, I wasn't a terribly reckless guy like that. I was always thinking a step ahead, weighing the consequences of my actions before I followed through with anything. I wasn't going to do something stupid like freeze a guy walking down the street and keep him that way forever. What would that accomplish for me? Wow, funny joke? All it would do is put people into a panic. Word gets out, suddenly it's on the news all across the country, all across the world. And then, when I try to freeze time for myself and anyone else ever again, it's only going to make **them** freak out.  
  
The possibilities for what I could do with this power were too enormous for me to blow it on childish pranks.  
  
The bus dropped us off at the same spot it picked us up earlier that morning. I headed across the street and back home—a standard high-rise building near the beach. The sidewalk was now bustling with people in their swimsuits and old people with their walkers.  
  
I was still all smiles as I was buzzed into the front door of the lobby. As I waited for the elevator, a familiar face caught up to me from the bus stop and waited nearby with me. It was Sofia, one of the girls from my Biology class.  
  
  
"Hey," I turned and greeted her.  
  
"Hey," she replied with a slight smile before both of us looked back to seeing what floors the two elevators were at. I couldn't help but take a moment to look over at her through the mirrors by the elevator doors. She always wore such tight blouses and pants that showed off her incredible bust and the curves of her waist and hips. She was a beauty, and having her live in the same building as me was like a blessing.  
  
One of the elevators opened and we both got on together, alone. I pressed for my floor and she pressed for hers, one floor above mine.  
  
I glanced over at her again, causing her to notice. Instead of awkwardly turning away and risking her thinking I'm a weirdo, I decided to embrace my new confidence and strike up a brief conversation with her as the elevator hummed along.  
  
  
"You know," I said, "you and I don't talk very much."  
  
"Yeah..., I guess not," she quietly replied. She didn't seem terribly interested in talking to me, though I didn't know why.  
  
The elevator door opened—my floor.  
  
"Well, see ya tomorrow," I politely said as I departed.  
  
"Bye, Anthony," she replied with just a hint of sweetness in her voice. As the doors closed behind me, I couldn't help but puff my chest out proudly and heave a content sigh.  
  
She was totally into me.  
  
  
That night, I checked out what was on TV, hung out on the internet and chatted with friends. I was really tempted to message everyone on my buddy list and tell them, "I HAD SEX!" However, I wasn't too sure about talking specifics and I doubted too many people would even believe me. Because, of course, people make up stories and talk shit out their ass over the internet all the time. It was just counter-productive to tell anyone.  
  
Instead, I kept it to myself which was more than good enough for me. I still stayed on to enjoy the usual nonsense and bullshittery I did every night anyway.  
  
I called it a night at around eleven P.M., which was surprisingly early for me. I turned off my underwhelming, primitive little computer and started to head off to bed when I got another idea.  
  
I made my way out of the building, downstairs through one of the side entrances and headed outside. There, I froze the entirety of the world around me and stepped into the silent night. In that instant, the city became all mine.  
  
"So cool," I whispered as I walked out onto the street. I did a quick little forward handspring across it, laughing as I danced around the inanimate cars and people. I raced behind the nearby drug store where my friends and I always hung out at, creeping into the inky darkness I wouldn't ever have had the balls to traverse normally. I caught the sight of a nearby homeless guy sleeping under the trees before scaling the chain fence and walking along a quiet back street.  
  
The street lights cast their frozen glow around me as I walked by each one. The city was so peacefully quiet in that area, more so than usual. There wasn't a person or car to be found. It was as if the entire city was tucking itself into bed.  
  
I got down to the end of the road, to an intersection that led back to the main street before I realized I was getting pretty tired.  
  
I sighed and rounded the corner, having myself a personal stroll down the main street, watching the people frozen in place and what they were doing in the second they became immobile. Though the idea of having the city all to myself seemed fun at first, it was so lonely. The silence, the lifelessness, the lack of the cool sea breeze—it was what made the city. Taking all that away just made it boring.  
  
  
Although the idea turned out to be a bust, at the very end it had its high point. As I walked back to my building, I looked up and saw Sofia again, only this time in her bedroom. My eyes widened as I noticed she was busy slipping on her nightgown as she prepared for bed. I guess she forgot to draw the blinds, or she just assumed that nobody was watching.  
  
I was totally in awe. Seeing a beautiful girl like Sofia in her lingerie, slipping on her little silk nightie? It made my night for sure. I chuckled to myself as I quickly headed back to the same side entrance I left from, slipping into the time-frozen door and resuming time to let it shut behind me.  
  
I was completely exhausted by the time I flopped down onto my bed. After all of the crazy, eventful excitement that had happened in just one day, my mind couldn't wait to get some sleep.


	3. Tuesday

When I finally awoke with a weak groan, the first place my sleepy eyes went to was over at the table clock. I was about a half hour early from when I usually got up, so I figured I might as well start my day and get ready for school while I had plenty of time to spare.  
  
 _Time?_ Shit—I could've just frozen time, walked across the country and back and _still_ have a half hour to get ready for school. That, however, would've taken me years to complete and was probably the stupidest idea I could've ever had anyway. On top of that, the previous night's stroll made me realize it was more fun to be in the real, living world than alone in a stilled land of silence. I wanted to be more responsible with my power and keep its use to a minimum.  
  
Responsible. _Great_ , I was already becoming an adult thanks to this power.  
  
  
I headed on down the city sidewalk and made my way to the bus—my usual trek at its usual time. I contently breathed in the cool, morning air carrying the taste of sea breeze and sighed happily. I felt more refreshed and more ready to take on the day than I ever had during the entire school year.  
  
As I waited at the bus stop, I kept to myself as per usual and started to glance at the other kids. Part of me wanted so badly to brag to them about what I could do, but I kept myself restrained. I didn't want to be a jackass and start getting really cocky out of nowhere just because I had sex and had this cool power. Moreover, I couldn't help but feel really calm and laid back. I still felt like I was on top of the world—I was just content to keep it to myself.  
  
The bus showed up on time and the rest of the kids and I all boarded into our usual seats. I'd always found that amazing that, day in and day out, we followed an assigned seating pattern we basically came up with ourselves. It was almost like we had a hierarchy of seating arrangements, where the cooler kids would sit at the very back of the bus.  
  
  
I felt more awake and alert than ever during the ride to school, instead of falling into my usual habit of letting my head droop or using the window as a makeshift pillow. I sat with one foot up on the seat, my elbow resting on the window with my fingers gently draped over my jaw and pondered. I assumed the kids on the bus had started to notice the shift in my demeanor, especially with how chill I was on the bus ride home the previous day.  
  
Yes, I really said 'chill.'  
  
The sun slowly rose behind us as the other kids talked and laughed along the way to our destination. With a calm smile upon my face, I thought about what Jennifer spoke to me about after having sex. She raised my confidence up, made me feel wiser when it came to the opposite sex and made me really enjoy the moments we shared together. It brought out a side of me, a more positive side, that I was embracing and making my own. She made me feel like I could totally do it all over again with another girl.  
  
And that's when I realized it.  
  
My jaw dropped in disbelief. How oblivious was I? Of _course_ I could do it again! Why that didn't sink into my head earlier remained a mystery. I still retained my time-stopping power—evidenced by a quick blink and a freeze of the world around me—so it wasn't like it was going away or anything.  
  
  
But questions still remained. Who would I try it with? How would I go about it? The possibilities started swirling around in my head and re-ignited my ambitious desire; that initial spark of searching for an intense thrill of the moment like I shared with Jennifer.  
  
Before I let my pupils start dilating and my adrenaline start pumping, I curbed my excitement. I had to think rationally, not start jumping up and down on the bus seat like a chimpanzee. I'd have to plan, let the moment present itself, and act accordingly. It wasn't about having a crazed sex-fest, it was about enjoying the experience and having fun.  
  
My lips curled into a huge smile. I knew it was going be fun for sure.  
  
  
The bus rolled to a stop and everyone filed out one by one onto school grounds. Just as yesterday, and every other day before it, I went to have breakfast and then hung out with my friends before the morning bell rang. Today was an 'even day,' and different set of classes than the previous day. First up was Algebra, a fairly simple class.  
  
The teacher begun her lesson, writing on the whiteboard and having us flip our textbooks open. My chin rested in my hand and I found myself just carelessly gazing out the window through the open shutter slats. While my newfound confidence was causing me to become more down to earth and in tune with myself, it wasn't exactly an immediate change. Sure enough, in that moment I fell back on one of my old habits: daydreaming.  
  
The teacher began talking, though I wasn't listening. I kept thinking about Jennifer and how amazing she was the previous day. I sighed quietly, a dreamy smile upon my lips.  
  
  
The teacher held her own textbook in one hand, reading from it as she slowly paced back and forth in front of the board. When she stopped, she looked around and I idly noticed the other students raise their hand. She searched for someone to respond to her, which was when she spotted me in the middle of a daydream.  
  
From my experience, teachers always loved catching slackers and making them look foolish so they pay attention.  
  
"Anthony?" she spoke up, snapping me out of my daze. "Could you answer the problem on the board?"  
  
I glanced over at it and quickly straightened my posture. It looked like a garden variety mathematic function. "Uh," I uttered as I quickly looked the problem over. Some of the students already began to snicker, certain I wasn't going to answer correctly.  
  
"Looks like 'x' is zero, and 'y' is three," I said.  
  
"Very good," she replied before turning her attention back to the textbook.  
  
It wasn't that I'd never done work in school, I just found it boring and tedious. Then again, what high school kid doesn't find some excuse to complain about their work?  
  
But while doing math was simple enough, trying to plan out how to use my power around girls and not have it scare them to death was much more complicated. Unfortunately, there was no equation for that one.  
  
We spent most of the rest of class just copying down text from the textbooks—my absolute most hated thing to do. I could never fathom why just reading from, or studying the text wasn't good enough. Nevertheless, my high spirits persisted throughout and I charged ahead with hand-copying the pages we were instructed to onto my notebook.  
  
  
Afterward, the teacher was feeling merciful for once so she allowed us to spend the last ten minutes of class chilling out. I decided to make the most out of that time by once again listlessly gazing out the window. While I was thoroughly enjoying myself, however, I felt a quick tap on my shoulder. I uttered a curious hum and turned around to see who had poked me.  
  
It was Tamara. One seat back in the adjacent aisle of desks, she was one of the girls I was actually on friendly terms with. Usually, the black girls in school wouldn't even give me the time of day but Tamara was different—and she was super cute to boot.  
  
"Hey, Anthony," she greeted me with a tiny smile on her face.  
  
"Oh, hey, Tamara," I replied as I spun myself around to face her. "What's up?"  
  
She shrugged. "Not much. I noticed you, like, totally spacing out though. I bet you know how many holes are in the ceiling tiles now, huh?"  
  
"I guess it's just one of those days," I answered with a soft chuckle.  
  
"Yeah, I know that feeling," she replied with a sigh. "Sometimes I just feel like," she shuddered, "'yuck' and don't want to do any work. But I noticed **you** doing work for a change."  
  
"Like I said, it's just one of those days."  
  
Her lips curled into an amused smile. "Nice job on that little 'pop question.' I swear, our teacher makes it her mission to get us to slip up."  
  
I replied rather nonchalantly, "Hey, someone has to stand up for us."  
  
She chuckled and grinned. "You're funny. ...By the way, it's good to see you paying attention in class. You're actually pretty smart. I know everyone else in class doesn't see it, but I do. So, don't worry—I got your back."  
  
"Hey, thanks," I replied, humbled by the remark. The two of us shared a brief moment just smiling at one another. She always had such a remarkably pretty smile that made me completely enamored with her.  
  
Then, like the mighty buzzkill it was, the bell to end class rang. The rest of our classmates and I all simultaneously started getting to our feet, stretching and increasing the chatter as we put our books and pens away.  
  
  
"Well, see you tomorrow, Tamara," I said to her as I slung my backpack over my shoulders, watching her still put her belongings away.  
  
"See ya later, Anthony," she replied just before I quickly started to make my way out of the room.  
  
While at that point I suppose I could've just frozen time and started weaving around people like I did before, there was a 'student jam' stretching far out the door. I sighed in frustration as people began to pile up in front and behind me. _Great_.  
  
As if things couldn't get worse, a couple of guys in front of me started joking around and play-fighting with each other. They unsurprisingly neglected to notice there was someone behind them and bumped into me, hard. It caused me to stumble back and hit people behind me as well.  
  
I groaned in frustration. "What the hell, dude?" I spoke up, causing them to quickly turn their attention to me.  
  
However, my complaint was immediately overshadowed by a much louder, shriller one.  
  
" **Boy, you better** _ **watch**_ **where you're going!** "  
  
I turned around in a panic to see none other than my fiery latin classmate herself, Elizabeta. She and I not only shared Algebra together, but she was also one of my Biology classmates, too.  
  
My head was reeling from her very sudden, very loud yelling as I tried to muster up a reply.  
  
"Uh, ...sorry," I quietly said before calmly turning back around. She humphed angrily and started chatting with one of her friends behind me.  
  
Elizabeta may have been short-tempered, but she was so adorably pretty behind that quick-tempered persona. I personally found her quite cute, given how she was shorter than most other girls in school, although I would never admit that to her face.  
  
  
Luckily, the line got moving right after and I quickly fled from any further interactions with Elizabeta's wrath. Just down the hall was Spanish, my next class. I slipped inside before most of my classmates did and took my seat which was at the very front row. Not long after, another one of my female friends, Jordan, entered the room.  
  
"Hey there, Anthony," Jordan said with a smile, heading past me to take her seat a couple places behind mine.  
  
"Hey," I replied, watching her as she passed by. "So, where's Sarah?" I asked whilst turning around as she set down her backpack and took a seat.  
  
"Uhh, she's somewhere," Jordan idly replied as she dug through her backpack, "I don't know where. We don't have the same second period." She then looked up at me with a playful smirk. "Why? You can't wait to flirt and crush on her like you always do?"  
  
I broke out into a chuckle. "I do **not** have a crush on her," I insistently replied. Okay, I _may_ have had a tiny little crush on Sarah. A microscopic crush—really.  
  
She then perked up as she looked over my head and pointed.  
  
"There she is," she said. I quickly turned around to see Sarah walking into the room. Her long, shiny, blonde hair bounced as she headed toward me. A smile spread across my lips, doing my usual admiring as to how lovely she was. I unconsciously breathed deeply and puffed out my chest at the very sight of her.  
  
  
"Hey Sarah," I greeted her just before she walked past.  
  
"Hey Anthony," she replied, taking note of my smiling face and responded with a small laugh. She took her seat just behind mine and in front of Jordan.  
  
I loved to listen to Sarah speak. She had a lovely Southern accent that just added to how down to earth she was.  
  
"So, what's going on?" I asked Sarah as she started to take out her notebook and place it on her desk.  
  
"Oh, same as usual," she replied as she glanced up at me with a smile for just a second before reaching back into her backpack for a pen.  
  
"That bad, huh?" I remarked with a grin, causing her to laugh and shake her head in amusement. From behind her, Jordan peered out and started making kissing faces at me while pointing at Sarah. I rolled my eyes just as the bell for class to start stifled any further conversation.  
  
  
"Hola, class," our teacher spoke just as the bell stopped. I turned around to face the teacher.  
  
"Hola, Ms. Adanna," most of us replied as I was busy getting out my own notebook and pen from my backpack.  
  
"How was your weekend?" she asked. Her question was replied with a smattering of various mumblings and mutterings, followed by a growing raucous of laughter. She smiled happily. "Well then, hopefully I can make up for your weekends by giving your some easy work today, okay?"  
  
She turned around, marker in hand as she began to write down a brief explanation and examples of conjugating Spanish verbs—something we'd already gone over before. Once she finished writing, she began to talk to us in Spanish and have us speak along with her.  
  
As we did, I couldn't help but smile. Ms. Adanna was **so** beautiful. A lovely, African-American woman in her early 30's. She was always kind and patient with us, always giving us things to keep us engaged in class rather than sitting around being bored.  
  
And _man_ , did she have a nice body.  
  
  
Soon after, she turned around and began to erase the board to write on it again. At the same time, I found myself lowering my gaze down to her full, round butt which shook ever so slightly as she put her body into her writing. It was such a mesmerizing turn-on and something I couldn't help but notice throughout the entire school year.  
  
I knew there was no way I was the only guy in class that stared at her ass jiggle so subtly when she wrote on that whiteboard. She certainly captivated my attention and made class much more enjoyable.  
  
Before I knew it, the bell for lunch rang and everyone eagerly got up out of their seats. The chattering quickly began almost immediately as they made their way out of the room.  
  
I joined them and headed out to the hallways when I was suddenly tapped on the back. Keeping my stride, I looked back to see Jordan and Sarah following up to me.  
  
"So," Jordan spoke up as they walked alongside me, "what's for lunch today?"  
  
I shrugged. "Same as usual."  
  
"Ohh..., so _cafeteria_ buffet," she said. "I'm surprised you haven't started glowing or grown gills after eating that stuff for so long." I laughed in response. Jordan was an enjoyable person to be around. Her style of humor was always about playfully poking fun at others. Like Nora, she didn't exactly get my juices flowing but she was still a good friend to have.  
  
  
The three of us made our way outside and headed in the direction of the cafeteria.  
  
Jordan hummed thoughtfully. "You know, I'm thinking about having a slice of pizza with an orange **Crush** soda."  
  
"Yeah, you do that," I replied with a grin, starting to head off from the two girls as they left in a separate direction.  
  
"You should try it!" Jordan called out. "You'd _love_ it!"  
  
I chortled, making my way into the cafeteria where a plethora of students were either already sitting down for lunch or getting in line for food.  
  
  
The two girls that departed from my company had gone off to the special pizza stand our school had. As for me, I contently settled for having a lunch consisting of a burger, some carrots and tater tots. I grabbed a milk on the way out of the line and found myself a nice little spot near to the door all to myself.  
  
On days where I had lunch during Spanish, my usual group of friends didn't have lunch at the same time I did. So I was eating alone, which was completely fine by me as it gave me plenty of time to think.  
  
While I ate, I unsurprisingly pondered about my time-stopping powers. I gave more thought to going for the same thrill that I had shared with Jennifer—only with someone else. That's when my eyes lit up as Ms. Adanna suddenly crossed my mind. I was no exception to the age-old notion of guys having fantasies about a hot teacher. I mean, it was practically a given.  
  
Ms. Adanna was super-hot. The possibility of doing **her** in the middle of class excited me to no end.  
  
I wondered if I would've even been able to manage seducing her, and if she would even go for it. She _was_ an older, more matured woman and I was just one of her many students. Of course... there was only one way to find out.  
  
The very real possibility of striking out stuck in my head, however. I'd only had sex an entire one time and I thought it was a true miracle that didn't fall apart at the seams during it. Did I have the confidence to tackle such a huge fantasy as going all the way with my _teacher_? Could I ever? Maybe I should've been more content to build up said confidence in the meantime.  
  
I still wondered who I could try to seduce next, on top of the how and where and when. All manner of questions floated around my head, dogging me endlessly. I wanted to be able to come off as knowing what I was doing as well as managing not to terrify some girl with the realization that time had been frozen.  
  
I had no idea this new power would've made things seem so complicated. But, as the saying goes, 'with great power, comes great responsibility'—and comes the quest for a sublime fantasy to come true.  
  
  
I finished up my lunch and continued to bounce around ideas in my head. I idly took note of the nearby girls in the cafeteria. I wondered what would turn _them_ on, what would tantalize _them_? How could I turn their spark of desire into a flame of lust? Every girl was different; with their own tastes, their personalities, their moods... I mean, the same things that Jennifer liked might not be the same things other girls would like as well. I wasn't exactly the resident expert on females, so I felt pretty overwhelmed.  
  
If only each woman in the world came with a handbook on their likes and dislikes, that'd be perfect.  
  
Just as I had gotten to my feet to throw my disposable lunch tray in the trash, the bell to end lunch rang out. I headed out of the cafeteria amongst the droves of other students heading back into the buildings. Once there, I followed others around the corner and made my way back into Spanish class.  
  
I took my seat and waited for class to resume once the rest of the students were back inside. As they trickled in one by one, I couldn't help but let my eyes wander over to Ms. Adanna. She was calmly reading a novel behind her desk. My eyes became fixated on her and, pretty soon, the world around me faded away, leaving her and I behind our respective desks.  
  
  
She closed her book and slowly looked up at me with a seductive smirk. She carelessly dropped the book on the table and got to her feet, taking the ponytail off her long, sable hair and ruffling it up a bit. She slowly sauntered toward me, chuckling softly as I stared at her in awe.  
  
"I've been waiting for you to get back," she softly spoke before coming to a halt right in front of me. She continued to smirk at me as she slowly undid the buttons of her very professional-looking suit and pulled it off her arms, leaving her in a lavender blouse.  
  
"Why don't you take my top off?" she asked. "If you want to..."  
  
I eagerly hopped to my feet and approached her. "As long as you're offering," I replied. She smiled and placed her hands on my shoulders.  
  
I didn't care about being subtle, grabbing the blouse with both hands and ripping it down the middle. She moaned softly, the popped buttons clattering to the floor.  
  
"I want you _so_ bad...," I whispered to her as we looked into each others' eyes. I reached behind her, feeling for the hook of her bra—  
  
  
" **Hey, Anthony!!** " Jordan shrieked right in my face. Startled, I jolted out of my fantasy, holding onto the desk for support as I looked up at her with bulging eyes. She and Sarah both giggled.  
  
"Daydreamin' again?" Sarah asked. The two casually waltzed past me and took their seats while I just sat there, shell-shocked.  
  
"... Oh," I slowly uttered. "Well, you know... sometimes a guy's gotta rest after a big meal."  
  
"Uh-huh," Sarah sarcastically replied. I looked over to see both of them smirking at me. Jordan peered her head up and made kissing faces at me while pointing at Sarah again.  
  
I grinned and shook my head. "You two are nuts." They gasped in unison as they looked at each other.  
  
" **Finally** he gets it!" Jordan quietly exclaimed.  
  
"I know, right!?" Sarah added, giving herself and Jordan an obvious slap on the forehead while Jordan uttered a relieved sigh.  
  
"Like, finally, he _understands_ us," Jordan remarked.  
  
  
I sighed deeply as I turned back around. Ms. Adanna placed her book on her desk and got to her feet.  
  
"Hola, class," she said. "Como estuvo tu almuerzo?"  
  
"Bueno," most of the class responded.  
  
She smiled proudly. "Bien," she replied before turning back to the whiteboard and erasing what she wrote earlier.  
  
I groaned and gently rubbed my forehead. I was still coming down off the adrenaline rush from the fantasy I had, as well as from Jordan nearly scaring the piss out of me. Once I settled down, though, I realized how badly I actually did have to piss.  
  
  
"Ms. Adanna," I spoke up.  
  
"¿Si?" she asked without turning around.  
  
"Can I go use, you know, el baño?"  
  
She chuckled. "Yes, you may."  
  
I wasted little time getting out of my seat and headed out of the classroom.  
  
It was nice to have the hallways free and clear with no students _without_ having to stop time. I didn't really take my time to enjoy the sights though; I seriously had to pee. I swiftly slipped into the closest bathroom, which was all the way down the end of the hall. I let out a sharp sigh of relief as I got to pause and really take a moment to admire the sheer cleanliness of the urinal.  
  
I washed and dried my hands, casually dropping the paper towel in the trash bin and began to head back to class. That's when I carelessly ran head-first right into another warm body.  
  
  
" **Ow!** " was what I and another person exclaimed. I groaned and rubbed my head which throbbed with pain. I then curiously peered an eye open to see the other person doing the same thing.  
  
My hand slowly fell away as I was awe-struck at who it was I literally bumped into.  
  
"Talia?" I uttered. She stopped and quickly looked up at me before uttering an amused chuckle.  
  
"Hey, Anthony!" she responded with a pained smile as she held her head.  
  
My lips spread into a huge grin. I couldn't **believe** my good fortune.


	4. Talia

Talia was another one of my Biology classmates—and she was **so** very pretty. She had long, wavy, sable hair that shined and contrasted beautifully with her fair skin and bright, hazel eyes. To run into her in the hallways was a gigantic coincidence, but it was one that I welcomed just because of how nice it was to be around her.  
  
"Are you okay?" I quickly asked. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"  
  
"No, no," she replied with a casual wave, "that was totally my fault."  
  
I shook my head. "Well, I wasn't exactly paying attention to where I was going either."  
  
She laughed as she combed back her long hair. "Guess it's both of our faults, then."  
  
We smiled at each other as we stood there for just a moment. She had this unfaltering, pretty smile on her face that reflected how upbeat and perky she was. She was another part of the reason Biology class was so enjoyable. She was a sweet girl whose beauty was amplified by the exotic nature of her Persian genetic makeup. Although, she sounded and dressed and acted just the same as any other American girl in school did. Well, except for how nice she was compared to some others.  
  
I kept a smile upon my face, trying to keep my eyes on her face and deter myself from looking down to mentally undress her. She had a lovely frame, though it was currently obscured by a dense, black sweater. Just like Jennifer, Talia always seemed to wear a sweater when there was even the _slightest_ dip in temperature outside. I swear girls were so much more sensitive to the cold. Just my opinion, though.  
  
  
"Pretty crazy," I said, "that we just happened to bump into each other like this, huh?"  
  
"I know, right!?" she ecstatically asked. "Totally a one-in-a-million chance. Guess the universe just wanted us to bump into each other and give us a knock on the head."  
  
"You believe in that—fate and stuff?" I curiously asked.  
  
"Oh yeah, definitely. I love that kind of stuff. I mean it **must** have been fate, right?"  
  
"Yeah," I remarked with a slight smile as I pondered it over in my head. "Maybe it was."  
  
I began to wonder if we really were fated to run into each other. There must have been **some** reason involved. My mind instantly went back to lunch when I was obsessing over all the details of who I would try to fool around with next. When I looked at her warm, smiling face I couldn't help but feel like the stage was set and the moment was perfect. After all, it could've very well been a fated encounter.  
  
That was all the precognition I needed to give it a shot. I didn't hesitate before I blinked—and brought time to a halt.  
  
  
"Well, I should get going," Talia said, continuing to smile at me. "It was really cool seeing you around, though!"  
  
"Hey, wait, Talia," I quickly said, bringing her to a halt just as she started to walk away. "What do you say... you and I do something fun instead of going back to class?"  
  
She seemed a little confused that I would even suggest such an idea. "What are you talking about? I really have to head back before I get yelled at. My teacher is a huge pain."  
  
"Well, what if I told you that you, I don't know, had all the time in the world to get back to class?"  
  
She furred her brow curiously as she jerked her head back in confusion.  
  
"You're a strange dude, Anthony," she remarked with a small laugh. "What are you up to?"  
  
"Humor me for a minute," I replied. "Where's your class?"  
  
She spoke with a hint of confusion, pointing to a door down the hall. "Right over here?"  
  
"All right! Let's go," I said as I led the way there. She curiously followed me, trying desperately to figure out what I was trying to prove. There was no way she would ever believe me if I just blurted it out, and I became eager to see her reaction.  
  
  
I stopped in front of the door and motioned for her to try to go inside.  
  
"Check it out," I said.  
  
She watched me with a befuddled grin, waiting for perhaps some sort of punchline as she reached for the door handle. She immediately found that it was immovable.  
  
"What?" she uttered in confusion. "Why'd they lock me out?"  
  
I smiled, holding back a chuckle as she peered in through the pane of glass on the door.  
  
"Hello?" she called out. "I'm locked out of...," she trailed off and squinted her eyes in disbelief when she realized everyone in class was frozen stiff.  
  
  
"Like I said," I spoke up, causing her to turn her surprised and wide-eyed attention to me, "all the time in the world."  
  
"Did–I don't understand," she replied with a nervous chuckle. "What-what is- ... what?"  
  
I laughed reassuringly, hoping to avoid that aforementioned 'freaking out' I was worried about.  
  
"Well, to put it simply, I can sort of... freeze time."  
  
Her reaction to that was a blank stare. I wasn't sure I liked that and so I winced and turned slightly, preparing for a possible meltdown from her. Instead, she surprised me when she gasped in excitement and her lips curled into an enthralled grin.  
  
  
"Oh... my... god!" she exclaimed. "That is the **coolest** thing I've ever heard!" I quickly realized the disaster had been averted. I let my guard down and stared at her, my lips spreading into a bigger and bigger grin as she happily flipped out. "Are you really serious right now? Holy crap, I know a guy who has superpowers. **Superpowers!** Oh, my god. Ohh, my god—this is awesome. This is–wow! This is so cool!!"  
  
I took a moment to take all that in. "Um..., wow," I remarked in pleasant surprise. "For a second there I thought, you know, it was gonna make you panic."  
  
"I'm totally panicking–," she exclaimed, "but in a good way! This is great!"  
  
She then caught her breath, grinning as she looked at me in disbelief.  
  
I laughed. "You okay?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm good!" she replied. "Just wondering... what to do first? That's okay, right? We can do **whatever** we want!"  
  
I really liked the way she thinks.  
  
  
Talia began to curiously look around and quickly noticed a school security guard in mid-stride down the hall next to us. She giggled to herself as she quickly made her way over to him. I kept nearby in tow. I had no idea what she was up to, but I could only imagine she was looking to have some fun while time was stopped.  
  
"Hey, jerk-off!" she exclaimed as she neared him. I was taken aback, having never heard her talk like that. She walked up to him and hesitated for a second before she gave him a couple of little slaps on the face. "Yeah, you can't do anything about that cause you can't hear me! Right, jerk-off?"  
  
She looked over at me with an elated smile. "This is so freeing!"  
  
I was grinning from ear to ear. Watching her have fun made owning this power so much more satisfying. What's more, she was doing something that I would've gladly done first as well. Great minds think alike, after all.  
  
"Did this guy piss you off or something?" I asked.  
  
"Nah," she said, looking him over as she slowly circled around him, "I don't even know who he is."  
  
I couldn't help but laugh. She was great.  
  
  
She then came to a stop in front of him and hummed thoughtfully. She again hesitated for a moment—after all, the guy may have been frozen but to us he looked just as normal ever. It took her a moment to let go of her inhibitions and, when she did, the results were amazing.  
  
She took the hem of her sweater and suddenly pulled it up along with her shirt, flashing her bra-covered breasts at him. My jaw dropped in amazement. I **really** liked the way she thinks. Needless to say, it was an instant boner.  
  
"What do you think of these puppies!?" she asked him with a laugh.  
  
"Wow!" I exclaimed, surprised by how bold she was. "Is this 'Girls Gone Wild?'"  
  
She looked over at me, laughing, a huge grin on her face that crinkled her nose so adorably. She then hollered as loud as any drunken college girl on a beach with a camera in her face would as she bounced up and down with her hands in the air, causing her naturally big breasts to bounce. I was mesmerized by her; and not just because her boobs were nearly falling out of her bra, I swear. Her perky, upbeat nature had me nearly bursting at the seems in sheer elation.  
  
  
I followed along with her adventurous spirit and playfully stated, "Hey, it's not 'Girls Gone Wild' unless you bare it **all**!"  
  
She gasped at me in playful outrage. "You are so _bad_!" she exclaimed with a laugh. "And who am I baring it all for, huh? Him, or you?"  
  
I shrugged with a smirk upon my face. "I'm part of the audience too, aren't I?"  
  
She giggled and then popped her lips. "Hmm, I guess you're right," she casually replied.  
  
The smirk on my face only grew when she reached behind her, fiddling with the clasp of her bra and unhooked it. She let the bra slide down her arms and dangle off one finger, shaking her chest back and forth to make her admirable breasts bounce and sway. She grinned in amusement, watching me gaze in awe at her incredible, bouncing mammaries.  
  
She then turned around, popping the button of her khakis. I swallowed in anticipation as I watch her pull them and her panties down whilst shimmying her hips so seductively it made me shudder. She bent over and slid them all the way down to her ankles, giving me a clear view between her legs for just a couple seconds before she stood up. She then stepped out of them and turned around, her cheeks tinged pink as she smiled at me.  
  
"Oh, wow," I breathed.  
  
She giggled and blushed. "You like?"  
  
I could only quietly reply with the first thing that came to mind, "You are **so** hot."  
  
"You really think so, huh?" she asked with a playful smile. "I couldn't tell, seeing how you haven't blinked once in the last couple minutes."  
  
  
She was so playful and so sexy. I couldn't believe the level of seduction she had. She made me both happy and horny. It was then that I became the one to let go of my inhibitions. I wanted her so badly, she was beginning to drive me wild. I made my move as I began to slowly walk up to her.  
  
"You know," I said, "seeing you with no clothes on like that is starting to give me some ideas."  
  
"Oh? What kind of ideas?" she asked with the same playful smile, greeting me by placing her hands on my shoulders. I took her invitation, letting my hands rest on her hips.  
  
"Dirty... naughty ideas," I quietly replied. I grinned mischieviously at her, which she returned in kind.  
  
She softly giggled. "Ooh, I _like_ those kinds of ideas," she admitted as our bodies gently shifted closer and I placed my hands behind her hips.  
  
"You do, huh?" I asked, my head slowly dipping toward hers.  
  
"Mm-hmm," she softly responded before our lips gently mingled for the first time.  
  
  
Our lips slowly danced around, getting a taste of one another. She was so soft and so warm—not just on the outside, but inside as well. She was comfortable and inviting to be with. She made just being in her presence feel good. We sighed and quietly moaned against each other. Her body trembled ever so gently against me. I didn't know if she was too scared to keep going, but the way she was kissing me so adamantly made me think she was ready to do anything.  
  
Then, our lips gently pulled away from each other. I opened my eyes and looked deeply into hers, just as she did the same to me.  
  
"That felt nice," she softly spoke with a quiet sigh. "I really liked that..."  
  
"You are so beautiful, Talia," I responded. "You seriously have no idea how beautiful you are to me."  
  
She giggled quietly. "I think I have **some** idea," she replied. "I've caught you checking me out sometimes when I walk into class. You always look away and try to play it off like it was nothing, but... I know you've undressed me with your eyes more than once."  
  
I was stunned. I didn't know what to make of that at first, but I guess I'd been way more obvious to her than I realized. It was pretty naive of me to think she wouldn't have caught on, although I was worried that she saw me as a creep.  
  
"You don't... think that's weird, or anything?" I asked.  
  
"No," she replied with a gentle shake of her head. "Why should I? It's a natural thing for guys to think about, right?"  
  
I grinned happily, thankful she didn't think badly of me. After all, she was right—I was just being a **guy**.  
  
I then decided to play up on her perky attitude and press my luck by grabbing her nude, supple ass in both hands. She gasped in surprise.  
  
"Just like you," I replied. "You're _all_ natural..."  
  
She chortled and grinned wide enough to make her nose crinkle again.  
  
"You're a _bad_ boy...," she remarked as we leaned in and moaned softly, sharing another kiss.  
  
  
As we kissed, I began kneading and squeezing her ass in my hand. It quickly drove her wild as she moaned louder and kissed me more intensely. Our kiss was brief, however. She pulled away abruptly, panting softly as she looked into my eyes with a lecherous smirk.  
  
She then asked, "I bet those... 'dirty, nasty thoughts' are telling you to do things to me, huh?"  
  
" _Maybe_ they are," I replied. She giggled in response.  
  
"Well," she said as she placed her hands further down my chest, "if that's the case, then... you'll have to catch me first!"  
  
Talia suddenly shoved me away and bolted from me, laughing mirthfully as she ran down the hall. I was surprised, but enticed by the fact that she liked to play games. Watching her naked body streak down the school hallway brought out my inner animal. I quickly took off after her, giving chase to my fleeing prey.  
  
  
"Hey, get back here!" I shouted after her.  
  
"No way!" she shouted back. The fact she still had sneakers on her feet kept her just a step ahead of me, but watching her run like that was so unbelievably hot it put me into overdrive.  
  
"You know, I can just stop time and catch up to you!" I called out.  
  
"That would be cheating!" she exclaimed with a laugh.  
  
Her sneakers squeaked as she rounded a corner. I kept hot on her heels down a hallway of lockers, quickly closing the gap between us. Once I got close enough, I reached out with both hands and took hold of her curved waist.  
  
She playfully shrieked as our chase came to a halt. I quickly pulled her to me as she spun around, slipping a hand behind her head to protect it before firmly pressing her against the long line of lockers. I then slipped my arms behind her back and held her firmly, refusing to let her go for anything and preparing to go in for the kill. We panted heavily while diving our faces toward each other, kissing several times with a hot, eager passion.  
  
She threw her arms around the back of my neck, holding me tightly with the same amount of excitement. We moaned together, our lips smacking loudly, our heads quickly dipping and tilting. I then quickly broke away from the kiss, panting wildly whilst amorously kissing down her chin and around her neck as she moaned and tilted her head back.  
  
"Ohh, _Anthony~_...!" she moaned. I responded to her calling my name by homing in on her lips and sharing another brief, hot kiss with her.  
  
Our passionate kissing came to a halt as we took a moment to catch our breath. Her eyelids hung low as I gazed into her hazel eyes. Both of us were eager to find out what came next.  
  
  
"I am **so** turned on right now," she breathily admitted. "You're a **really** good kisser. I had no idea you were like this."  
  
"I was thinking the same about you," I remarked, just as winded as she was. She smiled with an open mouth as her breathing started to relax a bit.  
  
"You are super-cute," she said. "I always liked that about you."  
  
"I love _everything_ about you," I couldn't help but admit. "I have ever since day one. ... I feel like I've been missing out on how fun and... _energetic_ you are. You're a friend I'd really like to have."  
  
Talia smiled and slightly tilted her head, surprised yet enamored with what I had to say.  
  
"That's sweet of you to say," she replied. "You and I can **always** start being good friends." I smiled and gently stroked her back.  
  
"Good friends, huh? How good of friends?"  
  
She smiled and chuckled lecherously, her eyes filled with lewd intentions.  
  
" **Very** good friends...," she ambiguously replied before leaning in to share another kiss with me. I kissed her back, both of us sighing happily.  
  
  
When she calmly broke away from the kiss for a brief moment, I was still eager to keep going. I leaned back in and began to place gentle, airy little kisses on her lips over and over again until they spread into a big grin and she laughed.  
  
"That kind of tickles," she happily remarked. I couldn't help but take advantage of such an admission.  
  
"Oh yeah? You're ticklish?" I asked as I suddenly began to tickle her belly with both hands, drawing raucous giggling out of her as she hunched over and frantically grabbed at my hands.  
  
"Stop!" she protested between giggles. "Stop-stop-stop!"  
  
I heeded her call and placed my hands behind her hips, smiling at her as she caught her breath again.  
  
"I guess you _are_ ticklish," I said. Talia gave me an incredible smile of pure bliss as she looked into my eyes and put her arms around the back of my neck.  
  
"You're so much fun," she calmly said. "I really like this side of you."  
  
I smiled back at her, thanking her for her compliment by leaning in and taking her lips into my own once more. She eagerly kissed back, the two of us quickly slipping into a deeper, intimate kiss.  
  
  
She ran a hand up and down through my hair while I did the same with her lower back. I took control of the kiss, throwing self-restraint out the window with her completely naked against me.  
  
Pretty quickly, my hands became restless and I slid them up her front to take hold of her soft, round breasts. She moaned in protest, gently grabbing my hands and pulling away from the kiss. I looked at her in confusion.  
  
"Take your time," she softly said. "I really want to remember this..."  
  
I nodded in understanding, letting my hands slide away from her chest and circled them around to her back. I slowly ran my hands up the length of her back and down again to her dimples of Venus, keeping just outside her spine. Talia sighed in content, firmly holding me by the back of the neck once more.  
  
  
She held me tighter, pulling me close and letting my chin rest on her shoulder while she did the same with me. I gazed down her back as I calmly stroked her warm skin, listening to her sigh and mewl in delight. I smiled and closed my eyes, resting on her shoulder and taking in the warm, intimate moment of bonding I shared with her. The sweet scent of perfume on her skin and conditioner in her hair was so feminine and relaxing. Everything about her was soothing and so engaging, feeling as I though I was connecting with her in body and spirit.  
  
I then slowly ran my fingertips up and down her sides, feeling her ribs expand against me as she breathed deeply before letting out a deep, pleased sigh. My hands slipped behind her again, gliding down the soft skin of her ass, hearing her gasp softly. I smiled and trailed down to the backs of her thighs and then up the length of her back once again.  
  
She then pulled back a bit, letting me gaze upon her smiling face again.  
  
"I like the way you touch my body," she softly remarked. I smiled back at her as I gave my response when my hands reached up to her face. I tucked her long hair behind her ears and then slowly traced my fingertips along the outlines of Talia's delicate face.  
  
She smiled happily, fluttering her eyes closed and sighed quietly in pleasure as I caressed her face.  
  
"That feels so nice...," she whispered, gently scratching the back of my head.  
  
I chuckled softly while moving my hands parallel to each other as, I gently brushed over the facets of her face like a painter using my fingertips as brushes.  
  
"You're _really_ beautiful," I softly remarked. She smiled.  
  
"So are you," she replied before I ran a gentle thumb along her soft lips. Talia mewled softly as I circled my thumb around them for just a moment. I then slipped my hand behind her head, guiding it toward mine and kissed her.  
  
  
As we shared our deep kiss, my hands moved down from her face to her neck. I continued down to her collarbone and came to a stop just over her big breasts to see how she would respond. She responded by holding me tighter and kissing me even deeper, which I gladly returned. Sensing so resistance this time, I moved my hands down and cupped Talia's warm, soft, supple breasts.  
  
I slowly squeezed and massaged them; the very same breasts I'd caught myself staring at countless times before. Her breasts weren't gigantic, but big enough that I couldn't quite get my entire hand around them as I played with them.  
  
She sharply breathed through her nose as she arched her back, pushing her chest into my hands as though offering her breasts to me. She moaned onto my lips, both of us locked into an intensely fervent kiss. My thumbs flicked her nipples from side to side. They'd already become as hard as little pebbles.  
  
Our mouths finally broke away from each other, both of us panting heavily. I took note of the ecstatic grin on her face before kissing her chin, getting her to tilt her head back again. I kissed and amorously licked her neck, feeling the vibrato of her lustful voice against my tongue.  
  
It was an incredible rush for us to go from wildly passionate to calm and serene and back again. But, of course, we had all the time in the world to explore each other as much as we pleased.  
  
  
I kneaded her breasts like dough, listening to her moans amplify while I kissed my way down to her collarbone and over her breasts. I sighed lustfully onto her ivory appendages whilst combing over their round shape with my tongue. The warm scent of her breasts after being stuffed away in her bra all day long was so intoxicating.  
  
I squeezed one of her breasts tight, causing her nipple to poke out before I took it into my mouth, looking up at her as she excitedly watched me suck on it. She closed her eyes and moaned deeply, her lips constantly curled into a grin as she loved every second of what I was doing to her.  
  
"That feels good...," she spoke.  
  
Talia amorously stroked the back of my head. I closed my eyes, pressing my lips deep into her soft mound while avidly squeezing and pulling the other. Her breasts were so amazing—I could have sucked on them all day. We sighed lustfully together as I pulled my lips away from her breast. I gazed upon them while pushing them into each other and pulling them away.  
  
I was filled with elation. Having her hold me so tight, wanting me to kiss her and touch her—it was an incredible feeling.  
  
  
I then began to kiss further down her chest, slipping down to her belly. I was eager to pleasure her further when she stopped me.  
  
"Wait," she said, holding tight to the back of my head. I curiously looked up at her, past her breasts.  
  
"I want you to stay right here with me," she sweetly said with an equally sweet smile. I couldn't ignore such a request from that beautiful face. I stood up straight and smiled back at her.  
  
"You got it," I replied, making her quite giddy as she held me tight and we shared another deep kiss.  
  
My hands traveled down to her thighs. I decided to heed her desire for my touch first, and so I began to stroke the front and sides of her thighs. She shuddered in delight, my hands circling around her thighs and up to her butt.  
  
Talia broke away from the kiss, looking at me with an eager grin and anticipation in her eyes. She was patiently waiting for me to go further. I slipped a hand under her knee and pulled her leg up, drawing a soft gasp from her. I let my other hand travel around her inner thighs, building up some suspense. She began to pant audibly, her eager body squirming gently. Then, I slowly slid my hand up her thigh while she drew in a long breath. She let it out with a hot groan as my hand cupped over her wet pussy.  
  
  
Intense heat radiated from Talia's sex—I knew she was just as hungry for this as I was. I slowly rubbed my fingers into her thick folds, taking my time with her and drawing low moans of splendor from her smiling lips. She continued moaning as she slowly brought her head over to my shoulder and rested on it like before. She held me a bit tighter, giving me complete control over her wonderful body.  
  
I slipped a couple fingers betwixt her folds and explored the slippery skin for just a moment. I then calmly pushed those same fingers into her knotted hole, pushing inside her with the help of her copious fluids. She gasped in delight, her back unconsciously arching a little as she felt my fingers sink into her.  
  
"Oh, wow," I couldn't help but whisper, remarking at the incredible heat and tightness around my fingers. She purred and moaned into my neck, clinging to me as my fingers calmly explored her. I quietly panted along with her, amazed by how it felt within her confines. I was becoming very eager to find out how those confines would feel around my pulsing manhood.  
  
  
I then requisitioned my thumb to toy with her clit at the same time I fingered her. She jerked her head back and gasped sharply, her hands grasping my shirt tight. She slowly brought her face into my shoulder, her loud moans muffled, her body starting to slowly snake in response to the intensifying pleasure I was giving her. My fingers relentlessly thrust into her all while rubbing and flicking her clit. Her flowing fluids were trickling down my hand, all the way down to my wrist.  
  
Talia's body began to simultaneously jerk as she gasped sharply in elation several times. She bit down on the shoulder of my shirt, hissing and moaning in heavenly bliss. Her cries quickly became louder and more intense, her body trembling and pushing hard against me. Her head slowly drew back until she was facing the ceiling, endlessly panting and crying out while her walls contracted wildly around me.  
  
With an elated gasp, she reached the peak of sexual excitement. My fingers rapidly jabbed her as I guided her through the beginning of her orgasm before quickly pulling my arms around her. I held her just as she held me—tightly—feeling her helplessly shudder and moan decadently as I let her ride out her climax.  
  
  
She continued to moan softly as we stayed like that for a moment, embracing each other. I panted softly, gazing upon her while she continued to shudder and moan, experiencing the jubilant aftershocks of her orgasm. I couldn't believe how mentally satisfying it was to watch her come down from her climax, knowing that I had brought her there.  
  
She then looked up at me with a smile, her eyes half-lidded from exhaustion. I smiled back at her and she giggled quietly.  
  
Still out of breath, Talia quietly remarked, "I'm surprised you know... how to make a girl cum."  
  
"So am I," I replied with a sly grin. She quietly laughed in amusement.  
  
"You know, most guys don't even know where to _find_ a girl's clitoris."  
  
"Yeah, well, I just like to get a 'feel' for things," I replied. She giggled and leaned in toward me, happily engaging an affectionate kiss with me.  
  
I really wanted to stay there and continue to kiss her, given how elated and into it she was. But, damn, I was so hot at that point I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to get these clothes off.  
  
  
I broke away from our kiss and pulled back slightly, quickly reaching for the hem of my shirt. She curiously looked at me as I began to unclothe.  
  
"Is it hot in here or is it just you?" I playfully asked. She grinned happily, pulling her hands away while watching me take off my shirt and toss it. Talia amorously ran her hands up my bare chest while I undid my jeans and let them fall to the floor along with my boxers.  
  
She gasped softly as she took note of my erect shaft standing straight up. It didn't take long for her to act on impulse. I groaned softly as she gently took it in both hands and sighed in awe.  
  
"Oh, wow," she whispered. "It's so beautiful..."  
  
I closed my eyes and continued to groan as I throbbed in Talia's soft, warm hands. I didn't even care that my pants were still wrapped around my ankles. It felt so good to have her slowly and delicately stroke my organ with her hands, exploring every inch of it thoroughly. She looked up to see my lustful gaze, grinning and chuckling quietly.  
  
  
I placed my hands behind her hips again, pulling her a bit closer to me. I felt incredible having her slowly massage me and lave her hands over my raging cock. She was not at all vigorous, but her slow and gentle stimulation still gave me unbelievable pleasure.  
  
She tilted her head and leaned in to kiss me. We eagerly moaned onto each other lips while she continued to play with me. I grabbed her a bit tighter, savoring that kiss I'd wanted to share with her earlier. While we kissed, she shifted her body closer to me, slowly rubbing her soft belly up and down against my cock. We moaned amorously together for a moment until her lips parted from mine. She looked up at me with an eager grin, panting.  
  
From the look in her eyes, she was very clearly trying to tell me something. She wanted the same thing I did, and she wanted it bad.  
  
I placed my hands on the lockers behind her while Talia calmly turned around, placing her own hands on the lockers next to mine. She stepped back, getting into position, lowering herself as she arched her back and raised her butt. Her posture gave me a perfect view of her wet, swollen folds—a view that drove me absolutely wild. I placed a hand on her hip, her body trembling with excitement. I used my other hand to push down and aim my bulging cock to her entry point. I eagerly began to press inside her, both of us moaning in euphoric lust as our bodies united in the most exquisite way possible.  
  
  
Talia's copious fluids helped me to sink with ease into the unbelievable heat of her tight, shifting muscles. I held back from suddenly erupting within her, placing my other hand on her hip. Immediately I pulled back, starting to build up a smooth rhythm. The overwhelming heat forbade me from even hoping to keep still inside her.  
  
"Ohh, Anthony...," she lustfully sighed as I pushed and pulled into her, "I can't believe how good this feels..."  
  
I let my head fall back, moaning along in harmony with her. I held tight to her hips, rhythmically plunging myself as far as I could go into the depths of her slippery, heavenly heat. The pleasure I felt was all-consuming, sending my head straight into the clouds.  
  
Talia's long, black hair swayed and tossed around as I rocked her body against mine; her admirable, soft breasts also bouncing in time with my rhythm. I felt infinitely accomplished that I had this beautiful, vibrant girl all to myself, her body lusting and yearning for me. So many times had I fantasized about how I would make love to her, but it was nothing like the real thing.  
  
I watched as she drew her head back, moaning loudly in lust as our hot bodies slapped together. I hunched over, placing my hands on the lockers and greeted her lips with my own. She placed her hand behind my head and held tight, moaning intensely onto my lips. Our bodies continued to rock, sharing a very brief kiss before we broke away and leaving her grinning happily and panting heavily.  
  
"This is so liberating...!" she jubilantly exclaimed.  
  
  
I kept myself hunched over her, placing my hands on the lockers once again. I amorously kissed and licked her cheek while I began to thrust harder, listening to her cries intensify. Talia held me tighter as I mindlessly buried myself into her. We panted wildly, our faces beside one another, lost in lust together. I was enthralled by the way we could transition between slow tenderness and all-out explosive passion.  
  
I wrapped an arm around her breasts, stilling them and holding them tight. I listened to her cry out to me atop the sound of our hot, sweaty bodies impacting loudly. I drowned in the monstrous pleasure that she swept through me, pushing it back into her and reverberating back into me in an infinite loop of amazing ecstasy.  
  
My other arm then wrapped around her lower belly, pulling it up a bit as I held her closer to me. I reared back further, suddenly shoving my hips much harder and faster than before. Talia squealed in ecstasy, her head tilting back to face the ceiling. Her incredible walls clamped down like a vice around me, amplifying my pleasure to an unreal level and beckoning me to erupt. My lips peeled back, baring my teeth as I groaned loudly and panted sharply.  
  
  
Her back was arched, standing on the tips of her toes as I pounded her wildly. I recklessly shoved every inch of me into her searing hot belly while listening to her beautiful voice intense cry out in jubilant ecstasy. She was loving every second of this, while I was completely consumed by her heat. Both of us were lost in hot, sweaty lust as I pounded her endlessly.  
  
"Ohh~, Anthony!!" Talia cried out, rocking helplessly. "You're so **amazing!!** "  
  
Her lusty voice, so passionate and so honest, was the final bit of gratification I could handle. There was no way I could've held back a second longer.  
  
I had enough cognizance to quickly unsheathe myself from her, grasping my wet length tight and jerked my climax out. I sharply groaned as the first few streamers of white hit the lockers and seeped through the grooves before finishing ejaculating onto the tile.  
  
  
We both remained in place for a few moments, allowing ourselves to catch our breath and find our bearings. I then straightened my back with a soft groan. I was followed shortly thereafter by Talia who got up and turned around to face me with an adorable grin. I grinned back at her, causing her to chortle. She threw her arms around me and we shared a warm kiss, wordlessly thanking each other for the incredible experience we shared.  
  
We moaned quietly, savoring the intimate kiss for a short while. I felt a sense of fulfillment like I couldn't believe. I was ecstatic after having known her and admired her for so long and then bonding with her on such an incredibly deep, personal level. She made me feel incredibly happy.  
  
We broke away from the kiss, looking into each others' eyes and grinning happily. She slowly shifted her body back and forth, both of us still buzzing from the aftermath of pleasure.  
  
  
"What a crazy fantasy that was," she remarked. "I never, ever thought I would have sex in school."  
  
"Yeah," I said, "It is a pretty crazy fantasy—pretty awesome, too."  
  
" _Definitely_ awesome," she corrected me. "That was the most perfect break to get me through the rest of the day."  
  
"Well, I'm glad I could recharge your batteries," I replied. She chuckled and leaned in to give me a quick, swift kiss and pulled back to grin at me. I couldn't let that go, giving her a kiss back. She giggled as we started a war of trading kisses back and forth.  
  
"I had no idea you were such a fun-loving girl," I remarked as our kissing came to a halt. "You're like a thrill-seeker."  
  
"Might as well live it up while we can get away with anything," she replied with a mischievious smirk. " _I_ had no idea _you_ were such a sexy, exciting guy... with **superpowers**!" She grinned and shook her head in disbelief. "This was so amazing."  
  
  
"You know," I admitted, "I've been hot for you since day one."  
  
"Oh, you mean back in **middle school**?" she asked.  
  
"Oh, no...," I replied, not enjoying her tone of voice.  
  
"When you were wild and crazy? You don't think I'd remember that, huh?" She smirked at me, her eyes shimmering as she reminisced.  
  
"I was hoping you wouldn't bring _that_ up," I remarked as I rolled my eyes. She mirthfully laughed, playfully shifting her posture onto one leg as she bent her other knee slightly.  
  
"You were always such a cutie, though," she said. "I always thought that about you. But you were really... hyper, I guess. It made you unapproachable."  
  
"Yeah, I know," I admitted with a shrug. "I'm trying to, you know, shed that part of me."  
  
She tilted her head with a warm smile. "I like it. It's **so** different, but... I like the 'new' you."  
  
"So do I," I replied, smiling proudly.  
  
" **And** I really like the way you kiss...," she remarked before happily sharing another one with me.  
  
  
She then looked in my eyes with a smile and remarked, "With that time stop thing, you could totally just freeze time and have, like, a day off from school or something."  
  
"Nah," I quickly replied. "I actually tried something like that. It's... not that great being in a time-frozen world by yourself." Her eyes curiously shifted between my own. "It's way more fun to share it with someone."  
  
She chuckled softly. "Well, I'm glad that 'someone' was me."  
  
"So am I," I replied.  
  
"Now, I have to go find my clothes," she said. Our hands fell away from each other before she jogged back the way we came from. "Ohh, they're all the way back here," she said from afar. As she reached the end of the hall, she looked to one side before pointing. "This way!" she exclaimed and laughed as she ran behind the corner. I shook my head and smiled in amusement as I, too, collected my clothes and began to put them back on.  
  
  
I headed back to follow after Talia. I turned the couple of corners we had ran past just in time to see her putting on her bra, having already put her pants back on. She looked at me with a smile as she bent down to pick up her sweater.  
  
"You dress fast," she remarked.  
  
"Well, I didn't have to run all the way back here to get my clothes," I replied, hearing her laugh as she put her shirt and sweater back on. "You know, next time you're in a world where time is stopped, you should _probably_ keep your clothes with you."  
  
"Oh, shut up," she playfully said as her head popped up through her sweater. " **You're** the only reason I took my clothes off!"  
  
I laughed. "You took them off all by yourself. Not my fault!"  
  
"Yeah it is! Stopping time and letting me get away with anything I want—shame on you."  
  
She adjusted her sweater as she walked up to me with a smirk upon her face. I was happy to greet her with a brief kiss, feeling her place her hands on my shoulders once more.  
  
  
Then, she broke our kiss and sighed sharply in content. We stood there, smiling at each other and reveling in the afterglow of the amazing, deeply-profound experience we shared together.  
  
"Well, guess I'd better get back to class now," she said. "And **you** should too, Mr. Time Stop; doing whatever you want."  
  
I laughed. "Don't act like you didn't enjoy it, too."  
  
She giggled, grinning once more enough to make her nose crinkle.  
  
"Thanks for the wonderful time," she said. "This was so awesome—I'll never forget this for the rest of my life. Promise."  
  
"Same here," I warmly replied before she leaned in and gave me one final quick kiss. I then took her by the hand and led her back to the outskirts of the restrooms where I had first stopped time.  
  
  
"This is where we were, huh?" she asked. "When you did your magic, I mean?"  
  
"Yep," I calmly replied as I came to a halt and turned to her, our hands falling away from each other.  
  
"How are you able to do it anyway?" she wondered. "Did you learn some kind of **dark magic** or maybe a dying wizard gave you a book of spells?"  
  
I couldn't help but laugh. She was more imaginative than _I_ was.  
  
"To tell you the truth, I really don't know," I replied, piquing her curiosity. "It just... came to me. I don't know how else to explain it."  
  
"That's really cool," she remarked with a smile. "Maybe it's like a puberty thing—once a guy reaches a certain age, he learns how to stop time." I laughed again, shaking my head in amusement. She grinned from ear to ear, chuckling softly herself.  
  
  
Then, we shared a heavy sigh together; both of us still smiling.  
  
"Ready?" I asked.  
  
"When you are," she replied. I nodded and blinked my eyes, our ears picking up the faint sound of the air conditioning cycling air through the vents and the sound of footsteps approaching.  
  
From around the corner came the very same security guard that she had flashed earlier. He came to a stop near us and looked at us, realizing the two of us were coyly trying not to laugh or look at him.  
  
"What are you kids up to?"  
  
"Nothing," I quickly replied, letting a laugh slip out, "I swear. We're just... joking around."  
  
He hummed suspiciously and motioned for us to keep moving.  
  
"Back to class, you two," he sternly said before walking away.  
  
  
The two of us were grinning as wide as we'd ever grinned as we looked at each other, still stifling our laughs.  
  
"Well," she said with a quiet laugh and a sigh, "I'll see you around."  
  
"Yeah," I replied. "I'm looking forward to it."  
  
She leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and then turned to merrily walk off toward her classroom. I slowly began to walk back to my own class, waiting until she'd reached the door. She grabbed the doorknob and turned to me with a sweet smile and a little wave. I waved back before she walked back into her class and let the door close behind her. I breathed deeply and let out a very elated sigh. I was all smiles as I finally headed on back. That was one hell of a bathroom break.  
  
  
I entered class while trying to hide how ecstatic I was—but it was pretty hard. The rest of the class was writing down what Ms. Adanna had wrote down on the board. A few of them looked up and saw my content expression, but none of them seemed to pay any mind. That is, until I went to sit down and saw Jordan looking very suspiciously at me. I chuckled before sitting down, flipping open my notebook and getting to copying down the text myself. Jordan, however, remained quite curious of me.  
  
A short time later, Ms. Adanna got up from her desk and walked up to the board, facing the class. She had us speak along with her the text that we had just copied down.  
  
"Muy bueno," Ms. Adanna said before glancing up at the clock. "All right, everyone. Class is over in just a few so, feel free to rest!"  
  
I swear I heard the class breath a relieved sigh which made me just smirk and roll my eyes. The other students quickly began to talk to each other and put their belongings away. I was putting my notebook away when I noticed, out of the corner of my eye, Jordan leaning over to Sarah and whispering something in her ear. Sarah smiled and nodded before they broke away. Eerily, they both looked at me at the exact same time with a couple of sly smirks on their faces. I sat up straight, looking at them in confusion.  
  
"What do you two want?" I asked.  
  
"That was a nice trip to the restroom, huh?" Sarah asked.  
  
"It was so good you came back with a big smile," Jordan chimed in. "Did you get it all out?"  
  
  
I smirked and sighed heavily. The two of them were pretty confident I took that bathroom break to go beat my meat. They were kind of right, I suppose but there was no way I would tell them what really happened.  
  
"You two are _way_ off-base," I remarked.  
  
"Uh-huh, _sure._ " Sarah sarcastically replied. She was good at that.  
  
"We _know_ you jerked one out, you horndog," Jordan said with a confident smirk. "Why else would you come back with a big smile like that? Unless you made it with some girl, but you don't have one of those."  
  
"Oh, please," I shot back with a cocky tone of my own. "If I wanted to, I could—" I quickly stopped, right on the verge of blurting out something involving the words 'time' and 'stop.' The two to raise their eyebrows, waiting for me to finish my sentence.  
  
I immediately relaxed the tone of my voice. "I could... you know, probably talk some girl up. I can get a girlfriend... any time I want. I might even have one now, you don't know."  
  
"Pfft, please," Jordan replied. "We know you don't have a girlfriend. Even though you _do_ want one." She then vigorously pointed to Sarah with a big smirk on her face.  
  
I then woefully sighed, lowering my gaze to the ground. "You're right—I do need a girlfriend. I'm just a lonely dude who doesn't have anything going for him..."  
  
  
The two were stunned, looking at each other as their expressions quickly turned remorseful.  
  
"Hey," Sarah said, "we were just jokin' around. Neither of us meant any of that stuff."  
  
I then looked up at her with a big smirk just as the bell to end class rang out.  
  
"So was I!" I exclaimed with a cocky laugh as I scooped up my backpack and headed for the door.  
  
"Oh, you jerk!" Jordan called out as she jumped to her feet. "You see, you bring these things on yourself!"  
  
I continued laughing all the way out into the hallways which started to become filled with students pouring out from their classrooms. I sighed happily. It felt so good to one-up those two for once. They were always looking to mess with me and now, I felt confident enough to mess with _them_.  
  
  
As I walked down the hall to my final class for the day, I passed by the lockers that Talia and I had fornicated at earlier. I looked at the dried cum stains I had left on the locker and held back a laugh. I wondered just how long they would stay there.  
  
My next class actually brought me out of the main buildings and into the mid-day sun. With a few other students, I headed down the pathway along the grass toward a handful of portable classrooms. I walked up a small ramp toward one of the doors and headed on inside for my final class: Driver's Ed. I felt fortunate enough to have all three of the guys from my close group of friends—Frank, Josh and Brandon—in Driver's Ed with me. Thanks to the fact that we were allowed to pick wherever we wanted to sit, the four of us sat near each other in a two-by-two box.  
  
  
"Hey Anthony," Frank greeted me as I took my seat and let my backpack slide to the floor.  
  
"Hey guys," I said as I looked at them with a slight grin. "How's it going?"  
  
They seemed to exchange glances back and forth before Frank replied, "How's it going with _you?_ "  
  
"What do you mean?" I asked, idly scratching the back of my neck.  
  
"You seem different lately," Frank said. "I notice you've been pretty damn happy, actually. Usually you just kind of sit there during class and tune everything out."  
  
"Yeah, what's going on?" Brandon asked. "Got a new girlfriend you want to tell us about?"  
  
I couldn't help but chuckle. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you," I told them. The conveniently-timed bell to start class rang and we all faced forward to pay attention.  
  
  
Driver's Ed afforded us not one, but two male teachers. Unfortunately, most of the beginning of class was spent looking over and copying down text from our driver's handbooks. Again, not my favorite thing in the world to do. During the typical days of having all six classes at once, practice driving was usually at a minimum. However, on days when we had Driver's Ed for two hours, any driving had everyone involved.  
  
Luckily, when most of us were done with our assignment, the teachers got us up. They led us out of the annexed classroom, down the ramp and a short distance away onto the driving course. A trio of nondescript white cars awaited us, as usual, and the kids began to take a seat on the metallic bleachers under a tall, cemented covering.  
  
In each car there was a driver, the learning student, and a leader, another student who already has a license. The leaders all headed for the cars and climbed into the passenger side while the teachers began to call off names and a specific number car they were to go to. The lesson was the dreaded parallel park.  
  
The students weren't restricted to sitting down and were allowed to congregate anywhere under the fairly spacious covering while awaiting their turn to drive. My friends and I were all kind of standing around in our own little group.  
  
  
"So," Frank said, "are you gonna tell us about your new girlfriend?"  
  
I grinned and slightly mocked him as I replied, "I actually don't have a 'new girlfriend,' seriously."  
  
"So why are you so smiley?" Josh asked. "Looks like it's pasted on your face. You're obviously happy about something."  
  
"I just... feel like I'm hitting a turning point in my life, you know? I'm trying to make something better out of myself and I feel good about it, that's all."  
  
"That's good," Josh replied, "especially considering how you usually act." That remark got him a swift elbow to the ribs by Brandon. "Ow! What?"  
  
"No, he's right," I said. "My 'bad' qualities outweighed the 'good' ones by a mile. Like I said, I'm trying to make something better of myself."  
  
"That's pretty grown-up of you, man," Frank said with a proud smirk.  
  
"Please don't call me 'grown-up,'" I said, causing the lot of us to share brief laugh. "I want to live it up while I still can."  
  
  
"My man!" Brandon said as he threw an arm around me. "All right, first thing's first: We gotta get you girls—lots of them."  
  
"I~ think I'll handle that on my own," I replied, hiding a slick smirk.  
  
"All right, all right," Brandon said as he took his arm away, "good man. You'll need that confidence to impress the ladies." He then turned to the other two. "Did I or did I not say the boy's gonna be six-foot-two, two-twenty-five and ripped? He's on his way to becoming a **man!** Yeah!!"  
  
I then followed him into a pretty manly high-five which left me laughing and shaking my head.  
  
  
One by one, the four of us started taking our turns driving. I was the last to go. Soon after Josh was done, the teacher called me over. I hustled over to the parked car '#3' and took my place in the driver's seat. Sitting next to me was an acquaintance of mine I'd met during the school year—he was a good guy named Nick. I knew him after becoming familiar with his cousin who'd been a pretty big douche in middle school. Nick, however, was far cooler and far more enjoyable.  
  
"Hey, Anthony," he greeted me as I closed the door and put my seat belt on.  
  
"Hey," I replied, shifting the seat so that it was comfortable for me and checking my mirrors.  
  
"Nice," he said. "You seem on the ball today. I didn't even have to remind you about the mirrors this time."  
  
"Yeah, well, I'm feeling pretty good today," I replied. "Let's see what I can get this baby to do."  
  
"Awesome," he said. I put the car into the drive, took my foot off the brake and started to accelerate.  
  
  
Driving had always been one of those things that made me a little nervous. I felt like it put me on the spot and put a lot of responsibility into my hands. I wasn't like some of the other kids that wanted to get a driver's license so they could do donuts in their driveway and speed down the highway going ninety miles an hour at three in the morning. I guess I was just too crazy for thinking _that_ rationally.  
  
"All right," Nick spoke up as he pointed up ahead, "you're gonna stop ahead of that open set of cones, back it up while turning away from the cones, straighten it out and then center yourself."  
  
"I'm on it, boss," I joked, causing him to chuckle a bit. I managed to stop in the designated area, look behind me and reverse the car, straightened the wheel and came to a stop before moving forward slightly. All throughout, I could practically **feel** the teachers' eyes on me as I was going.  
  
"Not bad," Nick said as I pulled away from the 'parking spot.' "You actually remembered the instructions this time— _and_ you didn't hit a cone. Pretty good driving, man. Keep it up."  
  
"Thanks," I replied as I drove down the line of cones, preparing to circle around for a second attempt. "I don't know why they're making us do this—we have no parallel parking spots anywhere near us."  
  
"Right?" Nick replied in agreement. "But it's still an important thing to know. Who knows—some of these guys might end up moving to another state or something once they graduate."  
  
"Yeah," I replied, finding myself lost in thought for just a moment. His remark put the future in perspective for me a little bit. How many of my friends might end up leaving once school's out for good? Would I? I began to wonder what was waiting for me at the end of high school. After all, it wasn't going to last forever.  
  
  
Whilst pondering, I lost my focus on driving and started to slowly veer toward the cones. Hitting them would not be fun as the teachers didn't take kindly to poor driving—another reason that driving had made me so nervous.  
  
"Whoa, watch it," Nick said with an astounding level of calmness as he grabbed the wheel and straightened it for me. I immediately snapped back to reality.  
  
"Sorry about that," I replied, hoping the teachers didn't see that little snafu. "I was just thinking about what you said."  
  
"Yeah, it's pretty deep. Personally, I can't wait to get out of here. I was thinking about moving to Colorado to be with my older brothers."  
  
"Wow," I remarked. "That's not exactly a short walk away."  
  
"Well, there's nothing for me here once I graduate. Might as well move on."  
  
"Hey, whatever's best for you, go for it."  
  
"Thanks—I plan to. You should definitely do the same, too. Go wherever life takes you."  
  
His words made me smile a little bit and made me hopeful for the future. Of course, that was still pretty far away. In the meantime, I had some parallel parking to take care of.  
  
  
After I finished with my test, I headed back to go talk with my friends some more. Pretty soon, the teachers herded us all back into the classroom to let us get our belongings just a few minutes before the final bell rang. Another day of thinking, learning and growing was done. Not to mention, the incredible experience I shared with Talia that would certainly stay with me forever.  
  
My friends and I said our 'goodbye's and once again I was on my own as I headed out of class. The bus stop was only a short walk across a grassy field from my final class so that was pretty convenient. I climbed into the bus and took a seat in my usual place against the window. This time, though, I sprawled out onto the seat like I owned it. I closed my eyes and smirked contently to myself the entire time as I heard several other kids file past me. None of them seemed remotely interested in getting me up from the seat and so, I had my own little resting spot.  
  
I didn't feel like I was getting cocky, more like I was just confident enough to cut loose and do the kinds of things I'd always wanted to do.  
  
Before long, the bus began to roll away and I opened my eyes to look up into the open window. The tops of the school buildings past by my view and eventually gave way to the afternoon sky. I thought back to my time-stopped escapades with those two lovely girls over the past couple of days. I remarked on how different Jennifer and Talia acted once the cuffs came off and they knew they could do anything with no repercussions. I wondered if that was simply the way that I felt about it. Knowing that I could do whatever I wanted and not worry about the consequences was especially freeing for a high school teenager.  
  
  
The bus came to its usual stop across the street near from where I lived. I headed off with the other kids and took advantage of the school bus's 'stop' signs to cross the street and begin my trek home. I turned around and noticed Sofia coming up from behind. I quickly decided that I would take the opportunity to strike up a conversation with her. I slowed my pace a bit to let her catch up to me.  
  
"Hey, Sofia," I greeted her as I began to walk with her. She seemed genuinely surprised that I was talking to her.  
  
"Hey there, Anthony," she replied with a slight smile. "This is a surprise. Usually you can't wait to get back home."  
  
"Well, I'm trying to turn over a new leaf now and be more... personable."  
  
"Wow," she remarked, "and you're using big words, too."  
  
"I'm a man of many surprises," I said, smirking at her.  
  
"I bet you are," she replied with a small chuckle.  
  
  
The two of us rounded the corner, heading further down the sidewalk toward our building. As we stepped onto the outer jogging track that circled around the building, I politely opened the short metal gate for her to enter. She laughed at how chivalrous that was. We continued on toward the front door of the building.  
  
"I usually notice you walking home by yourself, too," I said.  
  
"Yeah," she replied with a sigh. "My friends don't live around here and I usually just see them in school."  
  
"Maybe you and I can, you know, walk home and talk together. We _do_ live in the same building."  
  
"I'd like that," she replied, turning to me with a smile.  
  
We were buzzed into the front door and, of course, I let the lady go first. She called for the elevator and the two of us got on, pressing the buttons for our respective floors.  
  
"Well," I said, "I'll see you tomorrow."  
  
"Looking forward to it," she responded with a demure grin. I grinned back, getting off on my floor when the doors open. I looked back at her one more time before the doors closed once again and gave a silent 'yes!' to myself. I knew I was onto something when I thought she was totally into me. But moreover, I was elated to have made another new friend.  
  
  
That evening, I sat along the beach and watched the darkening sky over the ocean as the sun was setting behind me. The beachgoers—families, couples, tourists—were all packing up and heading back to solid land. I merely stayed there and listened to the weakening waves roll onto the shore. I closed my eyes as the cool, sea air breezed past my face and tossed my hair about. Needless to say, I loved the place I lived at.  
  
Nick's remarks about moving on made me wonder just how much longer I'd be enjoying this place. Part of me didn't want things to change and, with that thought in mind, I unconsciously caused time to freeze. I sighed quietly as everything went silent. My hands idly grazed over the solid sand, quickly turning them fluid again. I looked down, taking a handful of sand and just letting it seep out of my palm. Even though it wasn't a new trick, I never really gave thought to how I could be selective in what I froze in time—even things as miniscule as grains of sand. I wondered just what else I could do.  
  
Suddenly, I heard a soft whispering nearby. I was startled, thinking I hadn't frozen everyone. My head snapped toward the source. I squinted my eyes in disbelief as I could've sworn I saw something move behind another frozen person in mid-stride. I clenched my eyes and shook my head, giving it a second look to find that there was nothing.  
  
Maybe I needed to get my eyes checked.  
  
Regardless, I sighed heavily, letting time return to normal. I got to my feet, brushing the sand off of my clothes and decided to pack it in for the night just like everyone else was.


	5. Hunger

The next morning, I awoke at the same time I had the previous day. I breathed deeply and stretched out as far as I could. The muscles in my body felt... stronger for some reason.  
  
I sat up on the edge of my bed and got up with a quiet groan. I was feeling way more refreshed with my slumber than usual. I decided to get up and head into the bathroom, flicking the light on. I looked at my shirtless body in the mirror, front and back. I still looked the same as I always did, yet I felt like I could somehow bench press a car.  
  
I couldn't help but snicker and shake my head at the thought. Obviously I was just being as imaginative as usual.  
  
  
Out on the city sidewalk, I strolled toward my bus stop with my hands casually in my pocket and a song in my heart. I felt **really** good, getting a sense of euphoria just from inhaling the cool, sea breeze through my nose. I was unusually peppy and alert. All the sights around me seemed so much more vibrant and colorful. ...Was I on drugs?  
  
I couldn't help but enjoy myself, even during something as simple as my morning walk to the bus stop. Although I was a bit uneasy about my striking change in attitude, I knew it had to be a pleasant side-effect of my newfound confidence. I was starting to open up and really enjoy my life, one step at a time.  
  
  
I waited at the bus stop and once again kept to myself. However, I couldn't get the calm, worldly smile off my face as I continued to slowly look around and soak up my surroundings. It eventually caught the attention of one of the guys waiting with me.  
  
"Hey, man," he said. I had _no_ idea who he was, only that he was some guy with dark hair.  
  
"Hey," I replied back, continuing to idly look about. He shrugged and went back to waiting for the bus to show. I think he was more surprised that anyone could be so happy halfway into the school year.  
  
The bus showed up a bit earlier than usual. Everyone was quite thankful as it meant we didn't have to stand around in the quiet early morning anymore. We all climbed aboard and took our seats before the bus soon rolled away. I took in a deep breath and sighed, folding my hands behind my head as I watched the picturesque sights of the city I'd lived in for over a decade sweep by. I had made the guy sitting next to me a little uncomfortable with how my elbow was practically right in his face, but I didn't care. He'll live.  
  
The bus made its way onto school grounds and I got off just like a **normal** person, who perhaps **doesn't** have the power to stop time, would. School seemed a lot fresher to me, like it was actually enjoyable to be there. For once in my life I actually appreciated the sounds of countless teenagers gossiping and conversing as I approached the main gate.  
  
Just before I did, however, I spotted a familiar female face walking up from beside me. It was Eve, another one of my ravishing and tantalizing Biology classmates.  
  
  
"Morning, Eve," I greeted her with a warm smile. She looked over at me and cocked her head, taken aback that I was striking up a conversation with her.  
  
"Hey there, Anthony," she replied with a hint of surprise in her voice.  
  
"How's it going?" I asked as the two of us headed past the main gates and into the front courtyard.  
  
"Pretty good, I guess," she replied. We slowed our pace a bit as we wandered over to the stone benches. She slid her backpack off her arms and let it drop onto the bench and then took a seat. I sat down on the bench across from hers. For just a moment, I smiled and admired her long and soft sable hair draped over her dark, olive-colored skin.  
  
  
"So..., is there a reason you wanted to talk to me?" she curiously asked.  
  
"Just wanted to make friendly conversation," I stated as I leaned back casually. In my effort to be relaxed, I forgot there was no back to the bench and so I immediately grabbed onto the front of the seat to keep myself from falling over. She laughed quietly.  
  
"'Conversation,' huh?" she asked with a slight grin. "That's not like you. You like to keep to yourself."  
  
"Well, I'm trying to make a positive change for myself and be more open with people."  
  
"That sounds good," she remarked, smiling. "Good for you."  
  
  
She then started to look around as though searching for someone. It piqued my curiosity.  
  
"Looking for someone?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah," she replied with a sigh. "My boyfriend's supposed to be meeting me here."  
  
I raised my eyebrows in interest. "Boyfriend, huh? Lucky guy." She then turned to me with an amused grin on her face, causing me to laugh in confusion. "What?"  
  
"Nothing," she replied with a small chuckle.  
  
I found it quite easy to talk to her. She was open-minded and inviting to carry a conversation with. The two of us just sat there and grinned for a brief moment before she spoke again.  
  
  
"So, are you usually this pleasant to be around in the mornings? 'Cause you're not like this at all by the time you get to third period."  
  
"Like I said, I'm just trying to be more positive. Maybe... bring out a new side of myself."  
  
"Ooh, a side of you we've never seen before? How _mysterious,_ " she remarked, grinning. "You know..., you seem like a pretty cool guy to talk to. Maybe we can hang out during lunch? You can show me this 'new side of yourself' then."  
  
"Sounds good," I replied with a confident smirk.  
  
She then looked to the side, doing a double-take in disbelief.  
  
"There he is," she muttered as she quickly picked up her backpack and both of us got to our feet. She then sucked her teeth in annoyance as she kept her eyes focused on him. "I don't know where the hell he's going..." She then turned back to me with a polite wave as she walked off. "See you later!"  
  
"See ya," I replied, watching her walk away with a dreamy sigh. Eve was so pretty and carried herself with such confidence. She certainly wasn't an easy catch, so her boyfriend was obviously doing _something_ right.  
  
  
I then took my leave as well, deciding to go get some breakfast. I was pretty damn hungry. I headed for the cafeteria, only to be stopped by a familiar voice calling out to me.  
  
"Hey, Anthony!" I heard Frank say. I turned and saw my group of friends all looking over at me from their usual sitting place. Frank eagerly waved for me to come over. My stomach was growling but I didn't want to blow off my good friends like an asshole. I sighed in defeat and quickly made my way over to them. Hopefully whatever Frank wanted wasn't too important.  
  
"Hey, guys," I said as I approached them. I then looked at Nora and added, "And lady." Nora smiled and nodded.  
  
"So," Frank spoke, "who was the pretty girl you were talking to?"  
  
"Who? Eve?"  
  
"Called it," Josh chimed in. "I knew he had a girlfriend."  
  
"She's not my girlfriend," I replied with a smirk. "This is the first time we've really talked with each other."  
  
"You seemed pretty cozy with her," Frank remarked.  
  
"She's nice to talk to," I said with a shrug. "It's just easy to have a casual conversation with her."  
  
"'Casual' is a pretty good way to put it," Brandon said, laughing along with Josh as they shared a fist-bump. I couldn't help but laugh myself. Brandon was an enjoyably humorous guy, always finding a joke in everything.  
  
  
"Good one," I replied as I rolled my eyes. "Now I'm gonna go—" I was cut off suddenly by the sound of the school bell going off. School had started. "... Get to class."  
  
"Oh...," Frank spoke up in a guilty tone. "Sorry man, I didn't realize you hadn't eaten yet."  
  
"It's cool," I said with a reassuring smile. "Well, see you guys later."  
  
"See ya, man," Frank said as I took my leave. "Sorry again!" he called out.  
  
  
Trying to make it through school on an empty stomach was _really_ unpleasant. I knew from experience after the multiple times the school bus got to school too late for me to catch breakfast. As I headed toward my first period, I stopped at a nearby water fountain and decided to drink up a lot of water—and I mean a **lot** of water. It was desperate attempt by a hungry teen to fill an empty belly.  
  
As I walked away from the fountain, I gave some thought to stopping time and just dashing into the cafeteria to stuff my face. But for some reason, I just didn't feel like even bothering—as though it weren't that important. In the meantime, I was pretty set thanks to the water.  
  
Today was a normal scheduled day and so, I had all six classes to go to. Most of the time I appreciated normal days more since it gave me diversity in my classes throughout the day. I was still feeling good—great, actually. I looked forward to Biology in third period where I could see Jennifer and Talia again. The very thought of them put a big grin on my face as I sat down for World History and prepared to let my good mood carry me through the boredom.  
  
Our teacher, of course, was ready to greet us into class for the day with a pop quiz. That was pretty harsh of him. It made me glad I messed with his desk the other day.  
  
Regardless, the decline of the Roman Empire wasn't going to keep me down. I just went with what I remembered from our lessons—what I had learned between my daydreaming and dozing off—and put it to paper.  
  
I was surprised to realize that I was actually one of the first ones done. I raised my paper to be collected by the teacher. He walked over to me with a suspicious look on his face, taking the paper from me and looked it at while walking back to his desk.  
  
I think he was just as surprised as I was.  
  
  
The rest of class consisted of us opening up our textbooks and taking turns reading aloud from several pages of text. When it was my turn, I was considerably more enthusiastic in my delivery. I really doubt any of the other students gave a shit since, well, it was overall pretty damn boring. I really didn't care, however, my spirits were still high. Once we were done with reading we were given a few minutes to rest before our next class. I leaned back in my chair and sighed comfortably with my hands folded behind my head.  
  
The bell to end class rang. The rest of the students picked up their backpacks and headed for the door. I joined them, walking from one room to literally the next classroom over—my Algebra class. As convenient as it was to not have to walk more than a few feet, my empty stomach started to make itself heard again. I sighed and tried to ignore it as best I could.  
  
I walked into the nearly empty class and took my seat near the back. There, I took out my class textbook and my notebook and a pen. I still kept my spirits up, especially with the beautiful young lady that made her way toward me.  
  
"Hey, Anthony," Tamara greeted me with a sweet smile as she passed by me.  
  
"Hey," I replied, gazing at her as she walked past.  
  
"How are you?" she asked before taking a seat.  
  
"I'm good. How about you?"  
  
"Great," she replied with a big grin. I absolutely loved her smile.  
  
"You seem really perky today," I remarked.  
  
"Yeah," she said as she placed her notebook and a pen on her desk before looking up at me. "Dunno, I'm just in a good mood today."  
  
"Same here," I said. "Seems pretty crazy to feel so happy _so_ early in the morning, especially in school."  
  
"Right?" she remarked with an adorable laugh. Class was then starting, and the two of us sat forward at our desks.  
  
  
The teacher stood before the class and began to lecture us on what our next assignment would be. Unfortunately, I was finding it hard to concentrate—all that water I drank was finally starting to catch up with me. I quickly raised my hand to get the teacher's attention.  
  
"Yes?" she asked as she noticed me.  
  
"Can I use the bathroom real quick?"  
  
"Yes, you may," she replied. I quickly and quietly got up, making a beeline for the door. I then made a reserved, mad dash down the hallway and headed straight for the restroom.  
  
  
Once I'd finished and exited, I found myself being tortured once again by hunger. I walked calmly back to class, trying to conserve some energy so I hopefully wouldn't feel even hungrier. I sighed as I closed my eyes, unconsciously holding a hand up at my side. What I wouldn't have given at that moment to have a big, old hot dog with everything on it—ketchup, relish, mustard and just pile it on high.  
  
While dreaming about food probably wasn't the brightest thing to do, being as hungry as I was, something extraordinarily odd happened. I was so deeply focused on imagining that wonderful hot dog that I could've sworn I felt something warm and soft in my upraised hand, like a hot dog bun.  
  
I curiously opened my eyes which soon bulged from shock as I indeed saw a real hot dog in my hand, exactly the way I had imagined it.  
  
I shouted in panic, my first reaction being to pull my hand away. The hot dog splattered on floor, condiments spread out like a small explosion all over the tile. I stood there, staring at it in shock and disbelief. I then quickly darted my eyes around, wondering where the hell it could've come from. There was nothing and nobody around, certainly not any hot dog dispensers that were just dangling from the ceiling.  
  
I couldn't believe it. ...Did I really just make food out of thin air? It could have been the reason why I had unconsciously felt like going to the cafeteria was pointless.  
  
  
I felt kind of guilty as I then walked away, glancing back several times to make sure it was still there. I hated to give the janitors some unnecessary work but how the hell was I going to explain that I just happened to have a hot dog and dropped it on the ground?  
  
Luckily, nobody saw me in the halls and I was able to slip back into class before anyone did. Everyone inside was busy reading from their textbooks and taking notes in their notebooks.  
  
"Pages one-ninety-nine to two-oh-one," the teacher quickly caught me up on what we were doing. I nodded to her and sat back down at my desk. I opened my books and began to focus as best I could on the assignment. It was expectedly pretty hard after what had just occurred.  
  
But once the initial shock had wore off, I was actually pretty ecstatic about it. What else could I make appear like that?  
  
My stomach then growled loudly enough for the class to hear it, making a few of them quietly laugh. I was still so damn hungry. Having a perfect-looking hot dog go to waste before my eyes certainly didn't help that any.  
  
  
After each student was done with the work, they were afforded a short break to wait for the rest of the class to finish. I took a deep breath and let it out in a content sigh as I closed my textbook. I then closed my eyes and leaned back in my chair, still recalling the moment when I created a solid object out of thin air.  
  
I'd probably be pretty awesome at parties with a trick like that.  
  
I felt a tap on my shoulder and I smiled as I knew exactly who it was. I turned around and looked at Tamara.  
  
"Hey," she said with an adorable grin.  
  
"Hey, yourself," I replied, causing her to chuckle.  
  
"So~," she spoke as she rested her head in her hand, "what do you do for fun?"  
  
"I just screw around mostly," I replied.  
  
"Oh yeah? With who?" I smirked and rolled my eyes as she laughed. "I'm only playing. You know, I've always wanted to talk to you and... maybe even get to know you better."  
  
I was pleasantly surprised as I asked, "Really?"  
  
"Mhm. It's just that... you always seem really bored or just uninterested to want to talk."  
  
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Actually, I've been trying to open up more lately."  
  
Her eyes lit up with excitement. "That's awesome! ...'Cause, really, I've always thought you were... kinda cool."  
  
"Wow," I remarked in genuine surprise. "You think boring me is pretty cool, huh?"  
  
"Mhm," she replied with a giggle.  
  
"Well, I think you're pretty cool, too," I remarked. Her lips spread into another adorable grin.  
  
"Thanks," she softly said.  
  
  
Tamara was so sweet and so enjoyable to be around. I was really liking the pleasant moments I was already starting to have with her. Getting to know her on a deeper level was something that I readily welcomed.  
  
Not long after, second period ended and it was time for me to head to my most favorite class. I got up and slung my backpack over my shoulder.  
  
"See you tomorrow, Anthony," Tamara sweetly said. I smiled and casually waved to her.  
  
"See ya," I replied, heading for the door. Luckily, this time there wasn't a mass of students clogging the doorway so I was able to smoothly transition out into the hallway.  
  
  
As I headed down the hallway, I was suddenly and very roughly pushed from behind which caused me to stumble forward a bit. I quickly turned around to see none other than Elizabeta being her usual rough-and-tumble self with a cocky smirk on her face.  
  
"What's the rush?" she asked. "You don't think about being polite and walk a girl to class, pendejo?"  
  
I smirked as I retorted, "Since when do you need to be walked to class?"  
  
"Since I saw _you_ talking to that Tamara girl," she replied as the two of us headed down the hallway together. "I never seen you talk to anybody. What's the deal? You two fucking or something?"  
  
I laughed. "No, we barely know each other."  
  
"Hmph. Hasn't stopped anyone from fucking before." I really loved how straightforward she was. No games, always saying what she feels.  
  
"That's a little extreme, don't you think?" I asked, grinning slightly. "What, two people just say 'hello' and climb into bed together?"  
  
"Yeah, pretty much," she nonchalantly replied. "I've seen it happen before."  
  
  
The two of us made our way into the stairwell and walked up along with the other droves of kids.  
  
"So," she spoke up again, "What about you? You gotten laid yet?"  
  
"That's very nosy of you," I replied, opening the second floor door for her. She looked at me with a smirk as we headed down the hall.  
  
"Damn _right_ I'm nosy. Don't you ever notice me talking to **everyone?** "  
  
"There's a **lot** about you that I notice," I replied with a suggestiveness in my voice.  
  
She laughed. "Easy, tiger. Don't start thinking _I_ want to fuck you just 'cause I asked you about sex."  
  
"Well, don't you want me?" I asked with a sly grin.  
  
She responded with her own sly grin, her voice sultry as she replied, "I like guys a little _taller_ than you."  
  
"Ouch," I remarked with a laugh. "You hurt my feelings."  
  
"Don't worry about it, papi—you're actually pretty cute. I'm sure you'll find a cute girl to score with."  
  
"Yeah, maybe," I replied, happily keeping any personal details to myself.  
  
  
The two of us then headed into class and almost immediately, someone caught Elizabeta's eye and made her gasp in surprise.  
  
"Ai~!" she exclaimed before going off on a gleeful, rapid-fire tangent in Spanish that I could **not** follow. She ran up and eagerly hugged some girl I wasn't familiar with. I shrugged and looked over at the front table nearest the door, spotting the lovely Talia. She had a big grin as she waved cutely at me with her fingers.  
  
"Hi!" she greeted me in a very friendly, yet hushed voice. I smiled and laughed, waving back to her just the same which caused her to giggle.  
  
Just a moment after I sat down, Eve walked in and our eyes met for just a moment. She smiled at me before taking her seat at the table in front of mine, shared with her good friend Lila.  
  
Lila was a cute girl, too, though she was pretty indifferent towards me. And, by 'indifferent,' I mean she'd probably love it if I was in a completely different class. She'd been on the receiving end of my antics more than once, just like Jennifer had. It got to the point where Lila just tuned me out and was satisfied with pretending I didn't exist.  
  
  
The bell rung—class began. Just in the nick of time however, Jennifer waltzed through the door with her notebook tucked under her arm. She had a cocky saunter in her step as she marched down the aisle toward her seat behind mine. She gazed down at me with a smirk, causing me to sneakily rub her thigh as she passed. She responded by swatting my arm with her notebook—hard.  
  
"Ow," I quietly replied, rubbing my arm. She'd caught me with the painful spiral wire on the spine.  
  
Jennifer simply chuckled in amusement and took her seat, just as the teacher got up from his and began his lesson.  
  
  
Unsurprisingly, we were given another _wonderful_ read-and-copy assignment. I swear, my wrist was going to fall off by the time the day was out. However, I was being a good student and carried out my work as instructed. I was still feeling good, especially after seeing the two lovely girls again that I'd bonded with deeper than I could've ever dreamed. They were enough to keep my mind off of the increasingly overbearing hunger in my stomach.  
  
At one point, I consciously fell back on one of my old habits which was gazing upon the lovely girls in class. I was only doing so to take a brief break from writing instead of completely zoning out from my schoolwork. As I looked upon them, I realized that I'd always wondered what kinds of grades the girls I liked got. They must've had _good_ grades since every time during the year I'd looked over at them, they were always quite diligent and engrossed in their work—more so than I was. I sighed happily and returned to my work.  
  
  
I don't know where the time went because what seemed like a minute later, the bell for lunch rang out. I looked up at the clock in surprise at what time it was. I shrugged it off as I was more than happy to head to lunch. After all, I was starving.  
  
Before I bolted downstairs however, I suddenly remembered that Eve had invited me to hang out with her. She got up from her desk, unlatching her lunch bag from her backpack and began to leave the room together with Lila. She turned to me and waved for me to follow them. I couldn't do so immediately, as a group of students separated me from the two girls and forced me to wait.  
  
Once I was out in the hallways, I didn't see them there amongst the fluctuating wave of students eager to eat. I folded my arms across my chest and sighed in defeat. _This_ was why I always try to get out as quickly as I can.  
  
  
I finally made my way downstairs and headed out the doors to the outside pathways. Right there in front of me were the two girls standing and talking in the shade of the metallic overhang. I sighed happily and walked up to them.  
  
Eve greeted me as I approached. "Hey!"  
  
"Hey there," I replied with a casual smile, causing Lila to look over at me. She didn't seem terribly interested to see me.  
  
"Oh, hey, Anthony," Lila nonchalantly said before turning to Eve again. "So I was saying that—uh..." Lila trailed off when she realized that Eve was pretty fixated on me and I wasn't exactly leaving. "What's going on?"  
  
"I invited Anthony to hang out with us for lunch," Eve said with a smile as she glanced to her friend.  
  
Lila was dumbfounded, scoffing in disbelief.  
  
"You didn't tell _me_ ," Lila said to Eve.  
  
"I wanted it to be a surprise so... _surprise_ ," she playfully replied with a soft chuckle. Eve then looked over at me again. "So, where's your lunch?"  
  
"Oh, I get it from the cafeteria," I said.  
  
"Ha!" Lila remarked with an arrogant smirk on her face.  
  
"Okay, that's cool," Eve replied. "We'll be sitting over here. Just come look for us."  
  
"Got it," I replied back and then began to calmly hurry toward the cafeteria. My stomach couldn't take much more of this torture.  
  
  
Once I got my tray of food, I immediately headed for my usual sitting place with my friends.  
  
"Hey guys," I quickly greeted them.  
  
"Hey..., what's up?" Frank asked, realizing I wasn't taking my seat.  
  
"You guys don't mind if I eat with someone else today, do you?"  
  
The four of them looked at me, dumbfounded.  
  
"Well, yeah, that's cool," Frank said. "It's not like we have you on a leash or anything."  
  
Josh then teased me, "You're going to sit with your new girlfriend, aren't you?"  
  
"She's not my girlfriend, but yes, I was going to sit with her," I replied with a smile.  
  
"All right, man," Brandon said, holding out a fist to me, allowing me to fist-bump with him.  
  
"See ya," the guys said nearly in unison.  
  
"Yeah, see ya," Nora said, taking an interest in me with a curious smile on her face. I chuckled in amusement, waving to the group as I took my leave.  
  
  
I headed back out of the cafeteria and soon spotted the two girls sitting at one of the outdoor picnic tables. Eve waved to me as I approached them.  
  
"There you are," she said as the two were enjoying their own respective sandwiches. I quickly had to make a decision of where to sit. I figured it was safer not to sit next to Lila and so I sat next to Eve.  
  
"Wow," Lila remarked as she gazed upon my lunch of spaghetti, mixed vegetables and a roll. " _That's_ the kind of junk they serve?" She punctuated her attempted barb with a quiet laugh to Eve.  
  
"Yeah," I replied, quickly digging in with my plastic fork, "and I missed breakfast so I'm hungry as hell."  
  
Lila just rolled her eyes as I brushed her off while Eve chuckled.  
  
"I think it's pretty cool," Eve remarked. "I wouldn't touch it myself, but... I respect people liking different things."  
  
"Whatever," Lila said as she crunched on a couple potato chips from her neat little zippered plastic baggie.  
  
It felt **so good** to finally eat. Missing a meal was so unpleasant and I felt damn near lucky that I was able to focus long enough on my schoolwork until lunch.  
  
  
"So, Lila," Eve said as I continued to eat. "Anthony and I were talking this morning about how _he_ is trying to be more positive and bring out a new side of himself."  
  
"Why?" Lila asked as she looked over at me. "I don't like the old side of you anyway."  
  
Eve quietly laughed. "Come on, Lila—give him a chance. He's actually pretty cool."  
  
" _That_ doesn't seem possible," Lila sarcastically responded.  
  
"Well," I said after swallowing a mouthful of food, "I'm just trying to better myself. I'm not really doing it for anyone else but me."  
  
"That's good," Eve replied. "I can admire that. It's very grown-up of you."  
  
Oh, how I didn't like that phrase. "Please, no," I remarked with a playful weep. "Don't call me that."  
  
She giggled loudly. "Sorry," she replied with a grin.  
  
  
Just as we were beginning to share a moment together, my mind couldn't help itself from wandering into a spontaneous fantasy. I would've kicked myself for going off daydreaming in the midst of talking to an actual girl, if not for me getting very turned on by the images in my mind.  
  
Eve slowly got to her feet, staring at Lila with a hungry look in her eyes. She walked over to the other girl and took her gently by the hand, helping her to her feet. There, the two slowly put their arms around one another, giggling as they stared deeply into each others' eyes. They leaned in, moaning softly as their lips melded together in heated passion.  
  
Their hands rubbed each others' back, occasionally flipping up the hem of their shirts for just a second as if to tease me. They sighed as their lips pulled away, turning their heads to me with equally big grins and inviting me to join them.  
  
  
"Anthony?" Eve spoke up, pulling me out of my daydream with a surprised shake of my head. She laughed quietly. "You okay there? You kind of spaced out."  
  
"What a _suprise_ ," Lila remarked with a roll of her eyes.  
  
I sighed, trying to rid the fantasy from my mind. Though, as a red-blooded human male, I couldn't help but be fascinated by the idea of girlfriends 'experimenting' with each other.  
  
I chuckled in an attempt to brush it off. "Sorry about that," I responded.  
  
"It's cool," she said with a reassuring smile.  
  
Lila then looked at her wristwatch. "It's almost time to go back," she said. The two then began to pack their silverware back into their little lunch coolers.  
  
"Well," Eve spoke up, "the two of us are going to head back to class."  
  
"All right," I replied as the three of us started to get up. "See you both back there."  
  
Lila scoffed. "Yeah, great," she sarcastically said as she began to walk away. Eve quietly laughed.  
  
"See you in class, Anthony," she spoke with a kindness in her voice I'd never heard before. It caused me to sigh in content and smile as I admired her walking away. She and Lila then seemed to be quietly arguing about _something_ , though I couldn't possibly imagine what. I chuckled to myself as I grabbed my tray and tossed it in the nearest garbage can.  
  
I wandered around for just a couple of minutes, time enough to see my friends all exiting the cafeteria together. Josh looked over and spotted me.  
  
"See you tomorrow, Anthony!" he called out to me, causing the others to notice me and wave. I waved back, watching them walk away. Nora continued to stare at me, however. Even from that distance I swear she was blushing. I grinned and turned around, feeling completely awesome as I started to make my way back to class.  
  
  
I settled back into my seat, the teacher waiting for the other students to head back inside. Jennifer walked in and sauntered past me once again, her eyes closed and a content smile on her face. As she passed, I gave her a quick backhand across her ass. She gasped in surprise and quickly took a look around. She then gave a soft humph.  
  
"You're lucky no one was watching," she quietly said as she took her seat.  
  
"Does that mean you liked it?" I quietly asked as I turned to her with a grin. She grinned back but quickly tried to hide it as she looked away to rummage through her backpack.  
  
"Don't make me give you a fucking black eye," she remarked.  
  
"Oh, 'fuck.' I like that word. Like what you and I did."  
  
"Shut up," she quietly demanded. I grinned to myself as I decided to blink my eyes and stop time just before jumping to my feet.  
  
  
" **Hey everyone!** " I exclaimed, startling Jennifer as she quickly looked up at me. "Jennifer and I **fucked**! She doesn't want you to know it, but we had some amazing sex—"  
  
" **Shut up!!** " she shrieked, looking around the room in a panic. Having been through it before, she quickly realized what happened. "Wait, wha—Oh, you **asshole!** "  
  
I laughed as I sat back down, managing to get a grin on her face as she shook her head in amusement at me. I waited for us both to quickly calm down before resuming time once more.  
  
  
The rest of class was actually fairly standard. I settled in comfortably after my work was done and waited until the bell rang. Everyone gathered up their backpacks, as did I, and began to head to fourth period.  
  
"Hey, Anthony," Eve got my attention as she approached me.  
  
"Yeah?" I asked, coming to a halt.  
  
"Why don't you hang out with us during lunch again tomorrow? I'll try to get one of my guy friends to join us so you can talk about 'guy stuff.'"  
  
I smiled, appreciating the gesture. "I don't mind talking to girls," I replied.  
  
"Really?" she asked with surprise in her voice. "Well, whatever's good for you. I think Lila will start to warm up to you in time, don't worry."  
  
"I'm not worried and—I don't blame her for how she acted toward me. I pretty much deserved it. Like I said I'm trying to make some positive changes."  
  
"Awesome," she said with a nod. "Well I gotta hurry, my class is on the other side of the building!" she then quickly started to jog away, waving back to me. "See you tomorrow!"  
  
"See ya," I quietly replied, although she was already out of the room.  
  
  
Eve was so gorgeous. I was enthralled to be making more friends of the opposite sex like her, Talia, Tamara and even Jennifer; though the latter would never admit it out loud. I had a spring in my step as I headed on to Spanish class where my other, established female friends were waiting for me.  
  
I walked into the classroom, becoming immediately distracted by Ms. Adanna and her immaculate butt as she was already writing things on the whiteboard. I quickly shook it off and headed for my seat. Sarah and Jordan eagerly greeted me.  
  
"Hey, you two," I said as I slipped off my backpack and sat down.  
  
"I still have to get you back for yesterday," Jordan said, grinning mischievously at me. "Trust me—I will. You won't know when to expect it, but it's coming." I smirked in amusement.  
  
"Ooh," I sarcastically replied. "I'm _so_ scared." Sarah quietly laughed in amusement.  
  
  
Once class begun, the lot of us were in our seats and began our assignments. My mind felt so much clearer and settled now that I'd finally eaten something. Adding to that was the reassurance of knowing that I was really starting to hit it off with Eve. Nora seemed quite interested in me, which made me wonder. I could have sworn I heard she had a boyfriend, but then Jennifer's words of wisdom suddenly replayed in my head.  
  
' _Just remember that girls can't resist a good distraction from the drama of their relationship. Even if they're in a good place with their man, there's no reason they wouldn't want to spice things up a bit._ '  
  
I couldn't help but curiously hum to myself.  
  
Ms. Adanna soon moved on to having us speak Spanish phrases along with her while also making us take notes of what we were saying. At the same time I couldn't help but notice she was looking so beautiful in a lovely green sun dress. I would've loved to pull that right off her body. I wondered if she was wearing any panties underneath?  
  
Sarah tapped the back of my shoulder, causing me to turn around to her. She had an innocent grin on her face.  
  
"Could I borrow a sheet of paper?" she politely asked. I grinned and shook my head, getting a paper from my backpack for her.  
  
"You're **so** unprepared," I playfully scolded her.  
  
"I _know_ , I'm the worst when it comes to rememberin' stuff like that." She smiled as I handed her the sheet of paper. "Thanks, I owe you one."  
  
"That's about the twentieth 'I owe you' I've gotten. When am I gonna get to collect on these?"  
  
"Whenever I think of something," she replied with a shrug. I smiled again and turned around to focus back on my work. I was always so charmed by Sarah, no matter what she did. She was kind, thoughtful and never demanding. I guess that's why I had a tiny, microscopic, insignificant little crush on her. Seriously—it wasn't that big of a crush.  
  
I mean it!  
  
  
Before long, class was out and fifth period was next. I bid my farewells to Sarah and Jordan. English class was always a quieter, more comfortable class for me. The atmosphere that the teacher laid out for us was really laid-back and usually he gave us easy work.  
  
Our classwork for the day ended up mostly being us taking turns reading aloud from Homer's _Iliad_. Though I knew I could probably never write something as epic as _Iliad_ , I still enjoyed reading it. After all, reading _is_ fun. Don't you agree?  
  
I found that I read faster than most in class, so I usually liked to read on ahead from where everyone else was reading. Well, I would usually do that when I, of course, wasn't feeling bored or distracted by the thoughts of Ms. Adanna after having left her class. I know the teacher was on to me, watching me as I was turning pages while keeping my finger slipped between the ones the class was still reading.  
  
At the end of class, the teacher gave us our homework assignments and let us know what we'd be doing tomorrow. He then gave us a few minutes before the end of class. While I'd talked to some of the kids in class the last time I was there, they were pretty flippant about who they talked to and so they paid me no mind. I really wasn't upset about it, given the number of new faces I'd been talking to lately. I felt like I was starting to make a name for myself with all the new people I was getting to know.  
  
  
Once class ended, I managed to get myself out into the hallways as the bell rang and beat the crowds. The day was almost done. Just one more hour and one more class, which was of course Driver's Ed.  
  
I headed into the annexed classroom outside and greeted my friends as they came in after me.  
  
"So," Brandon started as he sat down behind me, "how'd it go with that girl? You two gonna go make out under the bleachers yet?"  
  
The others chuckled, as did I.  
  
"I told you, it's not like that," I replied with a slight grin. "Eve already **has** a boyfriend."  
  
"Yeah, but she's looking good," Frank said. "You can't tell me you're not _tempted._ "  
  
"Of course I am," I unabashedly admitted. The other guys all 'ooh'ed at each other. " _But_ I want to respect the fact that she's in a relationship."  
  
"You ask me," Brandon spoke up, "you should **totally** get in there, man." The other two laughed as they all shared fist-bumps with each other. My grin slightly faded as I actually gave some thought to his suggestion. Jennifer's remarks about girls in relationships replayed in my head once more. I wondered if I actually _should_ try to, I dunno, charm Eve the same way I did with Jennifer and Talia. She was incredibly hot and I wouldn't have thought twice about it if she'd hit on **me**.  
  
Then again, guys and girls tended to have different mind-sets when it came to sex.  
  
  
I was slightly disappointed when the majority of Driver's Ed was, what a surprise, taking notes from our driver's handbooks. As if I didn't get enough of that already. For the first time that day, I found myself getting distracted at points. Eve was _really_ sticking out in my mind. I played back the fantasy of her and Lila making out at the picnic tables and I found myself starting to dissect the clothes off of her gorgeous body.  
  
I groaned, rubbing my forehead as I tried to get myself back into my work. I exhaled sharply, focusing back on my task and getting it done as quickly as I could. Once I had, I put my pencil down and sighed as I shook off the stinging in my wrist before I leaned back in my chair. I stared up at the ceiling for just a moment and soon found myself connecting the dots in the ceiling tiles to make the shape of Eve's face.  
  
This was getting really ridiculous. I quickly looked away and rested my elbow on the desk with my head in my hand.  
  
Although I was mentally kicking myself for being unable to get her out of my mind, there was just so much about her that was admirable. She wasn't just gorgeous on the outside, but she was also open-minded and understanding. I enjoyed her interest in wanting to learn about others. It made me realize how accurate I was when I told her that her boyfriend was a lucky guy. Any guy would be an idiot not to get with her.  
  
  
Not long after, the final bell rang out and school was done for the day. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and departed from my friends.  
  
"Get in there, man!" Brandon called out, causing the others to laugh as I walked away with a grin.  
  
I hopped on the bus and let my backpack fall to the floor, taking my usual seat near the back. Again, I sprawled out on the seat like I owned it and for the second day in a row, got no complaints by the time the bus started to depart and take us back home.  
  
I kept my gaze forward, staring out the windows on the opposite side as I pondered to myself. Eve was still the biggest thing on my mind. She was seriously hot, and it was safe to say I would have sex with her in a heartbeat. But what would I even say to her? How could I possibly go about seducing a girl like her? She was a leader, not a follower. She carried herself with such confidence and stride like Jennifer, only without the quick temper and cockiness.  
  
  
The bus came to a stop and I made my way off of it. Once I'd crossed the street, I waited there for Sofia to catch up with me. I remembered how she expressed interest in my offer to walk home with her.  
  
"Hey," I greeted her with a smile.  
  
"Hey!" she happily responded, placing a friendly hand on my arm before the two of us began to walk together. "So, how was your day?"  
  
"Pretty good," I replied. "I'm being more personable like I said and getting to know some new people—like you, of course."  
  
She softly laughed. "That's awesome. I wish **I** could branch out to more people, but... when guys take one look at me they end up with only one idea in mind."  
  
  
Her words hit home with me and made me feel guilty. "That sucks," I remarked as I kept my gaze forward. "I mean, I will say that you **are** very pretty but..., you know I've realized that there's more to a person than just how they look."  
  
She seemed genuinely surprised by my remark as she looked over at me. "Glad to hear you say that," she said with a gentle smile.  
  
"Now, show me these guys and I'll punch them in the face for you."  
  
She laughed. "Come on. You know you wouldn't punch them in the face."  
  
"I'd give it my best shot," I said as I held the building's outer gate open for her and looked at her with a grin, "just for you."  
  
She smiled at me as I caught up with her again. "Have you always been this respectful towards girls?"  
  
"What can I say?" I replied as we walked past the outside fountain. "I like girls. I think they should be treated respectfully. Maybe that's pretty corny and old-fashioned but... that's just how I was raised."  
  
"I like it," she said. "Not a lot of guys I've met feel the same way."  
  
"Yeah, well, that's just who they are. I am who I am—I don't feel like changing that."  
  
She looked at me with an intrigued smile. "That's good. I'm glad."  
  
  
We were then buzzed in through the front and I held the door open for her. We both smiled as we waited for the elevator to arrive, stepping inside and pressing for our respective floors. The doors closed and, almost in unison, the two of us looked at each other.  
  
"Well, see you tomorrow," I said as the elevator opened for my floor and I stepped out.  
  
"Bye, Anthony," she said with a polite smile.  
  
"Bye, Sofia," I replied with my own smile and stood there until the doors closed.  
  
  
That night, I'd finished with my homework and gave a sigh as I looked out the window. Sofia's remarks about the way guys see her really made me give pause to my own unabashed lechery. I was being honest when I told her I was starting to recognize there was more to girls than how they looked—that was obvious. However, I couldn't exactly 'turn off' the switch hardwired into my brain when it came to the opposite sex. Women were _always_ going to be attractive to me and _always_ get my juices flowing. But if I could take anything away with my interactions with Sofia, Jennifer, Talia, Eve, Tamara and Nora it was that there was more than just wanting to rip off their clothes and fuck them.  
  
Although, that was still a pretty hot fantasy.  
  
Fantasies were just fantasies. It was how I treated those young women and respected them in **real** life that actually mattered. I had to admit, getting close to and bonding with Jennifer and Talia felt just as good as sex—if not better. Still, the sex was **really** awesome.  
  
Ah, well. That was just how life was, I suppose. I was still on my path to turning a new leaf, living my life to the fullest and enjoying every minute of it. I was tired of being tired all the time. I wanted something more, something new, fresh and exciting. I really felt like after making new friends with Eve and Sofia that I was definitely getting there.


	6. Eve

The following morning, I woke up with a very pleased smile on my face. I groaned quietly, happily stretching out on the bed. I'd had a great dream last night where I was knee-deep in a huge orgy with all the girls I'd spoken to the previous day. Aside from a fairly unsurprising case of morning wood, once again I felt like my muscles were just packed with power. They felt as tense and as strong as the previous morning.  
  
I pulled my knees to my chest and calmly thrust myself up onto the edge of the bed. I scratched the back of my head and thought for a moment as I smacked my lips. _Why_ did I feel so strong? Was it seriously my imagination getting the better of me or was I somehow bulking up without doing anything? Again, my arms looked just the same as they ever did but I just had to know what the deal was.  
  
Curious, I stood up and walked over to my computer desk. That wooden thing was stuffed with so many books and games and, of course, the heavy computer itself that it weighed an ungodly amount. What if, just maybe, I was able to move it on my own? I felt a bit hesitant as I squatted down and grabbed the underside of the desk. There was _no_ way this was going to happen.  
  
Then, in shock and awe, I lifted that heavy desk—all of it. And yet, I was hardly putting out any effort. It felt so easy. I somehow managed to pull it up about a foot in height before slowly letting it drop to the ground. I stood up, staring at the desk in disbelief. I didn't feel any worse for wear. In fact, I felt great. I couldn't possibly imagine where I'd gotten such strength from. Between that, the time stopping **and** the materializing objects... things were getting **very** interesting.  
  
  
Everything still looked as vibrant and as colorful as before on my way to the bus stop. It was as though my eyes wanted to experience everything there was to offer. The cool air was a nice touch to really awaken my senses. I began to think about my newfound strength and wondered just how strong I actually was. I figured I could try to pick a fight with a jock or something and see how that went... but what would be the point? Aside from the very real possibility of getting my ass kicked, what would happen if I actually won? How would I even explain it?  
  
I didn't care for fighting anyway. I would've much rather used that strength to lift a burning car off of a trapped dog or save an old lady from a burning house and jump out of the house just as a bad-ass explosion goes off behind us. ...I seemed to have fire on the brain for some reason. Perhaps it was just my _blazing spirit_ and my ignited passion for life! ...Or maybe I just thought fire was cool, I dunno.  
  
A few minutes later, the _non-burning_ bus came to pick us up and take us to school. I found that, in the morning, I really didn't care about taking the seat on the bus all to myself. The random guy sitting next to me didn't care to bring it up either. I was enjoying myself just taking in the sights as they rolled on by, being glad that none of it was on fire.  
  
The bus rolled to a stop once reaching our destination. We disembarked from its confines and headed out onto school grounds. It was roughly the same time as it got there yesterday but as I walked through the main gates, I didn't see Eve this time. I must have just missed her. I shrugged and decided to go actually have some breakfast instead of missing it again. To make up for time, I decided to enact my previous trick of stopping time once I'd sat down with my food. When I was done, I resumed time and went to throw my tray away. No one was any the wiser.  
  
  
It was a bright, sunshiny morning. I was feeling so great after having an actual meal that I barged out of the cafeteria and marched straight toward my usual sitting place with my friends.  
  
"Psst," a voice called out to me from nearby, bringing me to a curious halt. I quickly looked over and saw Frank, Josh and Brandon all hanging out together against the wall of the cafeteria building. I was quite confused as I walked up to them.  
  
"What are you guys all doing way over here?" I asked. The trio looked at each other before looking back at me.  
  
"We wanted to ask you to do something," Frank said. "You know, since you're a ladies' man now." I smirked as I sighed and rolled my eyes.  
  
"Okay, what is it?" I asked with an amused shake of my head.  
  
"We wanted to see you... you know, in action," Brandon said.  
  
"Action?" I asked, dumbfounded.  
  
"Yeah," Frank said. "We were hoping you could maybe..." he trailed off as he pointed to Nora. She was sitting by herself in our usual hangout place, curiously looking around for any of us.  
  
  
I was a little offended by how this was going. What did they expect me to do, exactly? I wasn't some gigolo. Besides, Nora was just my friend and I wanted to keep things that way between her and I—nothing more.  
  
"Oh, come on, you guys...," I said with annoyance in my voice.  
  
Josh quickly responded, trying to calm me down. "No, look, this is just for fun." I sighed and folded my arms across my chest, willing to give him a listen. "Nora totally digs you, we all know that. So maybe you could go over there and sit with her and put your 'Anthony charm' on her?"  
  
I quirked an eyebrow. "What..., seriously?" I asked. I _was_ suspicious about how Nora seemed really into me lately. Hearing it from them pretty much confirmed it for me.  
  
"Yeah, go on, man," Josh said, the other two eagerly waving me away.  
  
I sighed and casually shrugged. "Well, all right..." I wasn't sure if this was going to blow up in my face somehow.  
  
  
I then headed over to where Nora was sitting. She quickly spotted me and waved to me as I approached.  
  
"Hey there," she greeted me with a smile.  
  
"Hey," I replied as I placed my backpack on the floor and then sat next to her.  
  
She then curiously looked around again. "So, where are the others?"  
  
"They're staring at us right now," I replied with a slight smirk. She looked at me in surprise before slowly scanning the area. "Don't look. They wanted me to come over and talk to you as some kind of experiment to see if I could totally _charm_ you."  
  
She sighed and laughed in embarrassment. "Oh, god," she remarked as she folded her hands over her mouth. "Somehow that _doesn't_ surprise me," she replied with another coy laugh, followed by a deep sigh. "So..., I'm guessing you've noticed, too?"  
  
"It's kind of hard not to," I calmly replied. "With you staring at me all the time now."  
  
"I don't mean to stare... it's just..." she shyly rubbed her arm and looked away. "I, um..., you know, I've always thought you were pretty cool. But the way you've been acting the past few days is... is really interesting—in a good way. I like it."  
  
I smiled. "I like it, too," I said, causing her to look back at me and gently smile. "I feel like... I'm finally being myself, you know?" She nodded. "I don't feel as tired or bored. I don't want to keep things to myself as much anymore. I just want to... let everything out."  
  
"That sounds _really_ awesome," she said as she placed a friendly hand on my arm. "I admire that."  
  
  
Then, I remembered the other three were watching me and hoping for results. So, I smiled even wider and decided to put on a show for them.  
  
"You know... you have such pretty eyes," I softly remarked as we looked at each other.  
  
Her cheeks very visibly became flushed with red, laughing coyly again. "You really think so?" she asked with a demure grin.  
  
I nodded in response. "And they're accentuated by those glasses you wear."  
  
She laughed heartily. "Ooh, ' _accentuated._ ' Such an advanced word."  
  
"Why don't you take those glasses off?" I asked. "So I can see your eyes up close."  
  
She was a little intimidated by my straightforward advances, but nodded anyway.  
  
"Okay," she softly said, taking the glasses off her face and setting them down.  
  
  
I then wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her a bit closer. She gasped in response.  
  
"Oh...," she softly uttered as she placed her hands on my shoulders and looked straight at me.  
  
"Is this making you uncomfortable?" I softly asked.  
  
She uttered a reserved chuckle. "Not in the least...," she replied with a coy smile.  
  
I chuckled as well. "What about if I did this?" I asked, leaning in slightly. She gasped softly as my lips press against hers for just a moment. Our lips then parted with a gentle smack as I looked into her eyes again. "Does _that_ make you uncomfortable?"  
  
Her lips spread into an enthused grin as she shook her head. "Mm-mm, no," she remarked with a soft giggle.  
  
I smiled back at her before leaning in once more and sliding my lips firmly against her own.  
  
  
Our lips wrapped around one another as she moaned and sighed softly. I easily felt her racing pulse through every part of her body touching my own. She moaned nervously, her arms uncertainly shifted between sliding around the crook of my neck and placing her hands somewhere down my upper back. I held her tighter, causing her to instinctively pull her arms around my neck where they stayed.  
  
Once she settled down, we kissed slowly and intimately, savoring the moment. Her slender hands soon came up to my face, affectionately stroking my cheeks and forehead. I responded in kind by slowly drawing a hand up and down her back, occasionally brushing against the back strap of her bra. Our heads slowly tilted from side to side and pushed toward each other, deepening our kiss. Her soft, warm hands felt so good brushing over the cool skin of my face.  
  
A couple of guys walked by and saw us. "Oh yeah!" one of them exclaimed. "Get you some, boy!"  
  
The two of us were far too entranced to pay him any mind.  
  
  
We sighed against each other, enjoying our make-out session while, at the same time, the other guys in our group looked on in awe. I don't think any of them were able to believe I went through with it, not to mention _succeeded_.  
  
Her hands soon slipped down to my shoulders again. Our lips parted ways and we gazed into each others' eyes for just a moment.  
  
"Wow...," she quietly remarked. We then broke out into a laugh together, amazed and enthused by the moment we shared—not to mention have done it as a dare from the others.  
  
She wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling herself into me and hugged me tightly. She sighed happily, still riding on high spirits as she rested her chin on my shoulder. She lifted a hand and began to slowly stroke the back of my head. I looked over at the other guys and gave them a thumbs-up, which they avidly returned. I then closed my eyes and continued to rub her back while we shared our embrace.  
  
"How do you feel?" I quietly asked.  
  
"Really good," she replied. "Like, really calm. I've never felt this relaxed on a school morning."  
  
I chuckled. "Glad I could make your day."  
  
  
The school bell suddenly rang out, causing her to groan softly as she nestled her chin deeper into my shoulder.  
  
"Don't let go," she quietly remarked, "not yet. I want to stay like this just a little bit longer."  
  
"No problem," I replied with a smile, listening to her sigh softly. We calmly listened to the march of countless shoes all stomping around us. After a moment, she pulled away, placing a kiss on my cheek on the way back. Both of us smiled as we looked at each other.  
  
"That was really nice," she said. "I'm happy we shared that moment together."  
  
"So am I," I replied.  
  
"You are really cool," she said as she combed her fingers through my sideburns. "I've always thought you were really nice and... I'm glad to have you as my friend."  
  
"I feel the same about you." She grinned happily.  
  
  
But, our high spirits wouldn't last for long as she sighed and pulled away from me to put her glasses on.  
  
"Well, we should probably get to class now," she said as she reached for her backpack and slung it over her shoulders.  
  
"Yeah, probably," I replied as we both got to our feet.  
  
"I'll see you later," she sweetly said before placing one more kiss on my cheek.  
  
"Looking forward to it," I said. She giggled softly and began to merrily walk away. I quickly picked up my own backpack and put it on, joining the masses on their way to class.  
  
  
As I walked away, I looked over and watched Nora before she disappeared beyond the crowd of students. I breathed deeply and let it out in a proud sigh while waltzing into the main building. I had a big grin plastered on my face as I headed into first period. I took my seat and began to withdraw my supplies from my backpack.  
  
After the bell rung, we were given a fairly simple reading assignment of just a few pages from our textbooks. Thoughts of my kiss with Nora continued to circle around in my head as I stared at the pages. I couldn't believe how awesome it felt knowing that she was so into me and how cool she thought I was. I loved having shared a really great kiss like that with one of my female friends—and to have her love it just the same.  
  
With my interactions with Jennifer, Talia and Nora, I was elated by how intriguing I was to the opposite sex. All the time I had spent throughout the year daydreaming and keeping to myself, contrasted with how playful and rambunctious I was, seemingly made me something of a mystery. Add to that my newfound confidence and charm, and suddenly I had become a point of fascination.  
  
I was feeling _pretty_ damn good.  
  
My good spirits showed. I was more than happy to complete my classwork and jotted down my homework into my organizer. After class was done, I practically strutted into my second period right next door.  
  
  
Algebra was more of the same from yesterday, unsurprisingly. I was being quite studious in my work, not a care in the world and nothing to bring me down. Once I was done with my work though, I felt a tap on my shoulder. There was, of course, only one person it could be. I was more than happy to talk to her.  
  
"Hey again," Tamara said with her usual, pretty smile.  
  
"Hey, what's up?" I replied, grinning.  
  
"It's really good to see you in such a good mood lately," she remarked.  
  
"Yeah, well, I'm just enjoying life, I suppose," I said as I playfully flexed my biceps at her, a very confident look on my face. She giggled quietly in response.  
  
  
Class finished sooner than later. I bid my farewell to Tamara with a polite bow that drew an amused laugh out of her and I headed for the door. I took my time heading out into the hall, turning around and slowly walking backwards. Out came Elizabeta who quickly spotted me and shot me a mirthful grin. She trotted up to me with a playful punch to my chest.  
  
"You waited this time," she remarked as the two of us began to walk to class together.  
  
"I didn't want to make you mad again," I said with a smile.  
  
"That was a good decision," she responded, haughtily holding her head up high.  
  
"I enjoy walking you to class. It's always nice to have a girl to talk with."  
  
She seemed surprised by my remark. "You bein' pretty honest lately. Seems you're, like, ' _opening up_ 'and stuff. I like that. Be yourself."  
  
"I like it, too," I said, heading into the stairwell together. "By the way, who was that girl you ran up to yesterday when we got to class?"  
  
"One of my girlfriends," she casually replied. "She got transferred to our Biology class."  
  
"Nice," I replied with a laugh. "Someone _else_ for you to talk to. Like you don't have enough of those, huh?"  
  
She shot me a smirk as we walked down the second floor hallway. "Funny, papi."  
  
  
After we walked into class together, Elizabeta let out a quieter squeal than she did yesterday as she once again ran up and hugged her friend. I smiled and shook my head as she jumped up and down in excitement. I took a detour as I headed right past Talia's seat.  
  
"Hey," I slyly said to her.  
  
"Hey there," she replied back with a playful smile.  
  
"How are you doing?"  
  
"I'm doing really well," she said as she cutely played with her hair. "Thanks for asking."  
  
I then slipped by, a couple of rows back, to take my own seat. I'd just sat down and settled in, with my books and pen ready to go, when I saw Natalie walk into class. Every time I laid eyes on her became an exercise in keeping my jaw from hitting the floor. Natalie had the most developed, matured body I'd ever seen of any student in school. She was ridiculously gorgeous, with a full body, great ass and a huge pair of tits that I'd only ever seen porn stars have.  
  
And no, I'm _not_ joking.  
  
I kept myself from staring as she walked down the adjacent aisle to her seat on the other side of the room.  
  
  
Pretty soon, I realized that Eve wasn't around yet with about a minute left for her to get to class. I thought that was pretty odd since she was always very punctual. It was possible she was home, but then I noticed Lila was also missing in action. There was no way _both_ of them were absent. Right after I'd finished that thought, I noticed both Eve and Lila walking into class together behind a small group of other students.  
  
Something was off. Eve didn't look like herself. For some reason, she looked like she was crying.  
  
I watched as Eve said something to Lila.  
  
Lila had concern in her voice as she replied, "No, come on..." Eve just shook her head and suddenly walked right back out of class.  
  
"Eve!" Lila called out just before the bell rang. As per usual, Jennifer then walked into class and gave Lila a curious glance, wondering why she was standing around.  
  
  
Something was clearly up and I just had to find out. I gave zero fucks as I got up out of my seat and dashed past Jennifer and Lila, both of them looking over at me before they headed to their seats. The halls were nearly empty as the door closed behind me.  
  
"Eve?" I called out as I went off in search of her. Almost immediately, I heard quiet sobbing from the nearby restrooms. I quickly headed for the source.  
  
"Eve?" I uttered more quietly as I peered around the corner just outside the entrance to the girl's restroom. She was leaned against the wall, a hand covering her eyes as she sobbed incessantly.  
  
Boldly enough, I treaded into the girl's section of the restroom and walked up to her.  
  
  
"What happened?" I quietly asked. She sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes before she shook her head again.  
  
"My _boyfriend_ ," she softly replied. "He's a bastard." It didn't take me but a second to figure out what had her so upset. She shakily sighed, lifting her gaze from the floor and up to me.  
  
"I'm sorry," I said, unsure of what else I could say. She shook her head in disagreement.  
  
"Forget it," she replied as she pushed herself off the wall and glared at me. Her dark eyes were welled with tears. "Men are all assholes... just like you." She punctuated her remark by shoving me away and then rushing into the restroom.  
  
I stood there in shock and dismay. Her remark hurt pretty badly. I didn't know if she was just lashing out or if she meant what she said. Was it something I had done to her in the past? Did I say the wrong thing to her? ...Well, it was probably best to just leave her be.  
  
I heard her crying from inside and I felt horribly. I couldn't think of anything I could've possibly done or said to make her feel better. I figured there was nothing left to do except leave and so, I did.  
  
  
I headed back into class, clearly deep in thought. A few of the other students looked up at me, including Lila who eyed me curiously, as I walked by and took my seat. I sighed quietly and looked up at the board to read our assignment written out on it. I opened each of my books and calmly got to work.  
  
Although the good mood I'd been basking in all morning wasn't gone, it certainly was diminished. I expectedly kept thinking about Eve while putting my pen to paper. I wished there was something—anything—I could do for her.  
  
A few minutes later, the door opened again and Eve quietly walked in. She didn't make eye contact with anyone as she slipped into her seat and began to take her books out of her backpack.  
  
"Are you okay?" Lila whispered. I looked up and saw Eve casually nod to her. She opened her books and glanced up at the board before settling into her schoolwork. I gazed at her for just a moment before focusing back on the work myself. I was still certain that there was nothing I could do or say to help her, just to give her space and time.  
  
Time. I suppose there were certainly advantages to letting it run its course.  
  
  
Not long after, I just barely noticed the sound of paper tearing. I looked over to see Eve carefully ripping the paper in her notebook down the perforated lines. She then folded it up a few times and nudged Lila to get her attention. She whispered something to Lila as I turned back to my work.  
  
"Seriously?" Lila quietly asked. She then sighed and turned around, dropping the folded paper in front of me. It caught me off-guard and I quickly looked up at Lila who went back to her work without saying a word. I unfurled the paper and read it.  
  
" _Anthony,_ " it read, " _I wanted to apologize for how I acted earlier. I was just really upset, but that's no excuse and I shouldn't have taken out my frustrations on you. I'd like to talk to you some more once lunch begins. I'm really sorry and I hope you're not upset with me._ "  
  
Suddenly all that diminishment in my good mood went away. The note was like a breath of fresh air. I was just glad she wasn't actually mad at me. I looked up with a smile, raising my eyebrows curiously as I noticed Lila glancing back at me. She was being quite nosy, almost as though she wanted to know what was in the letter. With a quiet humph, she turned her head around and went back to work.  
  
  
My heart skipped a beat with excitement when I heard the bell for lunch, knowing that I was going to get to spend time with Eve again. I just hoped I could say the right things to her and help her feel a bit better.  
  
"I'll catch up with you," I heard Eve say to Lila as I stretched my arms over my head.  
  
"Okay," Lila said with a caring tone. "You know where I'll be."  
  
"M'kay," Eve replied before the two shared a friendly hug. Lila then took her lunch bag as I got to my feet. She looked at me, her eyes dropping to my feet and back up to my face before she scoffed and walked away.  
  
Classy.  
  
  
As Lila took her leave, I took her seat next to Eve.  
  
"Hey," she greeted me with a slight smile, her hands politely clasped together on the table. "I'm really sorry about earlier. It wasn't right of me to push you away like that. You were just trying to help and... you didn't deserve that."  
  
"It's fine—," I replied, "really." She coyly turned her gaze downward as she smiled a bit wider. "Given the things that I've done to bother everyone else I think it's only right I get what was coming to me eventually."  
  
"I don't feel that way," she replied as she looked up at me again, piquing my interest. "You said you're making a positive change for yourself and I believe you."  
  
"Thanks," I said. The two of us sat there for a moment in silence. "So... do you want to talk about it or–"  
  
"No," she interrupted me. "I mean, I do want to _talk_ , just... about anything else, though."  
  
  
Something moving caught my eye. I looked over to see Sofia waving at me as she exited the room. I waved back to her and she smiled. Eve watched the entire exchange.  
  
"You're getting pretty popular," Eve joked.  
  
"Positive changes?" I innocently replied, causing her to chuckle.  
  
"I see that," she replied with a slight smile. She then tucked her hair behind her ear. "So, what do you like to do?"  
  
I casually shrugged. "Normal stuff. Hang out with friends, chat online, play video games."  
  
"Oh yeah? What's your favorite video game?"  
  
I hummed thoughtfully as I considered my answer. "Probably _Super Mario World_."  
  
She gasped in excitement. "Oh, wow, I _love_ that game. I used to play it with my little brother. I could never beat it, though. He was way better than me."  
  
She then unhooked her lunch bag from her backpack and got to her feet.  
  
"Come on, let's walk and talk," she said, waving for me to follow her.  
  
"Sounds good," I replied as I, too, got up and left class along with her.  
  
  
The hallways were nearly empty. Just a few last kids walked by us and headed into the stairwell. The two of us took our time following them. Eve held her bag by the strap with both hands in front of her.  
  
"So, do you have any brothers or sisters?" she curiously asked.  
  
"Nope," I replied with a proud smile.  
  
"Only child, huh? Guess the way you used to act makes more sense now."  
  
"I guess it does," I said, grinning as I kept my attention forward. I was curious enough to ask her, "What do you like?"  
  
"I _love_ movies. Have you been to the movies lately?"  
  
I held the door open for her, our voices starting to echo as we walked into the empty stairwell.  
  
"I really don't go to the movie theaters that often. I think the last time I went was to see _Space Jam_."  
  
"Oh, I love that movie!" she giddily exclaimed. "Remember the song by R. Kelly? _I believe I can fly~_ ," I chuckled and shook my head. " _I believe I can touch the sky~._ "  
  
"You have a nice singing voice."  
  
"Thanks," she replied with a warm smile. I then sat on the stair rail and slid down to the mid point where it leveled out again. She gasped in surprise. "Wow, what a _daredevil_ you are."  
  
"I gotta get my kicks somehow, right?" I asked with a smirk as she caught up to me.  
  
"Yeah," she replied just before the two of us stopped at the bottom of the stairwell. "You seem like a fun guy. I can honestly say I really like talking to you."  
  
"Same here."  
  
She gave me a lovely smile that was infinitely better than seeing her in so much pain earlier. I was glad to help lift her somber mood.  
  
But something about that moment I shared with her made something click in my mind. I was so overwhelmingly infatuated with her, having always been attracted to her. It was like she understood me on so many levels. I was certain that it was a perfect time to spill my secret to her, and that she was more than trustworthy enough to keep it secret.  
  
  
And so, in that moment, I made a judgment call and blinked my eyes. Little did she realize what the mere blink of my eyes actually did.  
  
"Eve," I quietly said.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I want to, uh... I want to admit something to you."  
  
She immediately seemed shocked and upset. She awkwardly rubbed her arm and lowered her gaze to my feet.  
  
"... Oh," she uttered. "Well, ...Anthony I literally just got out of a relationship..."  
  
I quickly stilled her worries. "No, no, it's... it's not what you're thinking." She looked up at me as though a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. "You couldn't possibly guess this in a million years."  
  
"Oh yeah?" she asked with a playful smirk. "Well, now you've got my attention. What is it?"  
  
"Um... Wow, how do I even put this?" She tilted her head curiously. "Okay, I'll just go ahead and say it. Uhh... I can... I can freeze... time."  
  
  
She stood there for a moment, baffled. She furred her eyebrows and scoffed in amusement as she shook her head, hoping she heard me right.  
  
"... What?" she asked with an amused chuckle.  
  
"I can freeze time. Like... make it stop completely. In fact, I did it just now."  
  
She placed a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. "You've got a great imagination, Anthony," she remarked, letting her hand fall away and smiled at me. "You should write a book or something."  
  
I smiled as I sighed and nodded. "I figured you wouldn't believe me." I then pressed on the bar to open the metallic door. "Well, go ahead and take a look for yourself."  
  
  
As the door swung open, her big smile quickly transformed into an expression of shock. She gasped sharply.  
  
" **What?!** " she exclaimed in disbelief. With an overwhelming sense of amazement and curiosity, she stepped out into the frozen world. Her eyes didn't even blink as she looked from person to person, studying their motionless positions, their expressions. I quietly followed behind her as she ran her hands over peoples' immobile clothes and their faces.  
  
"They're like statues," she remarked. "This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen..."  
  
"I was hoping that would be your reaction," I replied with a smile. "It's much better than the dreaded ' _aaaaaahh!_ '" I quietly screamed with my hands jokingly on my face. She then turned to me with the same expression of shock she initially had.  
  
  
"I can't believe this," she breathed, laughing slightly. "At first I thought you were just messing with me somehow but..." she turned to the immobile students again, "when I touch them, their bodies are like _stone_. It seems _impossible_ , but you can actually do this!"  
  
I nodded in agreement. She sighed in exasperation. She idly walked over toward a small clearing of grass near the front gate. I gasped in shock, rushing toward her and grabbing her arm.  
  
" **Wait!** " I exclaimed, startling her with a jump.  
  
"What?" she asked, her eyes wide. "What is it?"  
  
"Well," I calmly replied, letting go of her as I pointed to the grass. "Remember how you said everyone feels like they're made of stone?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Just imagine every one of those thin little blades of grass completely unable to move." She thought it over for a brief moment and gasped. "Yeah. It wouldn't be very pleasant to step on."  
  
"Jesus," she remarked, taking a step back from the grass.  
  
"I can fix it though," I said, turning my attention to the grass and imagining it as being the same springy, harmless wisps of green that they should be.  
  
Then, to test that everything was fine, I knelt down outside the grass and gently patted it. I shouted and quickly grabbed my hand as I pulled it away.  
  
  
"Oh, no!!" Eve shouted in a panic as she rushed over to me. "Are you okay?!"  
  
I then looked up at her with a playful grin, showing her my hand was just fine. She sucked her teeth and slapped my arm.  
  
"Don't do that to me, please," she said with a sigh. "This is already a lot to take in. I don't need you getting hurt on top of that."  
  
I merely chuckled, getting back up to my feet and walked onto the grass, hearing it crinkle under my shoes. I then turned to her with a smile and extended a hand.  
  
"It's fine," I said. "Come on."  
  
She smirked and placed her hand into my own as she carefully walked onto the grass. I then began to lead her further in as she curiously gazed down at the ground.  
  
  
"Wow," she remarked in awe. "So you can choose to stop specific things in time if you want to?"  
  
"Yep," I calmly replied. "Why do you think both you and I weren't frozen while everyone else was?"  
  
She smirked at me. "Good point."  
  
I then let my hand fall away from hers as I squatted down and then laid back on the grass with a content sigh. I folded my hands behind my head, putting one foot over the other and closed my eyes. When I noticed a lack of sound from her, I peered an eye open.  
  
"You want to join me?" I asked.  
  
"Well...," she uttered as she looked around. "Why not?" she added with a shrug, dropping her lunch bag to the ground and laying down near me.  
  
  
It was so awesome to be lying next to her, not a care in the world. I listened to her soft breathing and casually glanced over at her. She was busy staring at the immobile clouds up above.  
  
"It's so quiet," she softly said.  
  
"That it is," I replied.  
  
"It's really peaceful, in a way," she added, "when I don't think of all the non-moving people around me, of course."  
  
I chuckled softly. "You get used to it."  
  
" _You_ certainly have," she remarked with a smile. "The sun feels different. It's like... still hot but stale somehow. I don't know how to explain it."  
  
"It kind of feels like being in a sauna."  
  
"Yeah. It feels nice," she said before looking over at me. "Only because the company is so nice."  
  
I looked over at her with an enthused grin before she turned her attention back to the immobile clouds.  
  
  
"I used to love going into my backyard," she said, "lie in the grass and just stare up at the clouds. ...Simpler times, when I didn't have to worry about boyfriends and broken hearts." She then sighed heavily.  
  
"I know you said you didn't want to talk about it," I said. "but I just want to throw my thoughts in and say he's an idiot." She quickly turned her gaze to me with a look of surprise in her eyes. "You're beyond amazing. Any guy wouldn't think twice about wanting to be your boyfriend."  
  
"Thank you," she quietly said. "I can definitely appreciate compliments from a guy at a time like this..."  
  
  
"I can keep complimenting you if you like," I playfully said as I rolled over onto my side to face her. She kept her eyes on me, her lips curling into a happy smile.  
  
"Go right ahead," she replied.  
  
"Well," I said as I shifted toward her slightly, "you're so beautiful... ravishing, really. I've always admired that about you."  
  
"Yeah?" she asked with an intrigued smirk. "What about aside from how I look?"  
  
"I really like how open you are," I said, taking her intrigue as an invitation as I continued to inch closer to her, "and how you like to see from other peoples' perspectives."  
  
She seemed to have no problem as I placed a hand outside the farther side of her body. In almost no time, our faces were mere inches away from each other. I moved even closer, close enough to feel each others' body heat and to catch the smell of her perfume. Her eyes gazed into mine with a deep, passionate intrigue.  
  
  
"What else?" she softly asked, her eyes shifting between my own.  
  
I gently tucked her hair behind her ear. "You're really warm... and really fun to talk to." By then, we were able to feel our breaths against one another's lips.  
  
"Only because you are...," Eve quietly remarked just before I gently leaned in and let our lips become acquainted with one another. She sighed quietly, placing a hand on the side of my head as we kissed slowly, still shifting our bodies closer to each other.  
  
Our lips then gently parted, both of us panting softly.  
  
"Do you still want me to keep talking?" I asked.  
  
"Not at all..." she breathed, causing me to kiss her once more.  
  
  
Our kiss quickly deepened, wrapping as much of our lips as we possibly could and sliding back with a pleasant, audible smack. She buried her fingers within the hair on the back of my head, pulling me closer as I continually pushed my mouth deep into her own. Both of us moaned, high on elation, seemingly unable to get enough of each other. I was addicted to the sweet taste of her lips. Even after our lips finally parted from another, I found her words were just as sweet.  
  
"You're a really great kisser," she quietly remarked. "I like kissing you."  
  
"My thoughts exactly," I replied back. She chuckled softly as the two of us went right back to it.  
  
  
In the midst of our intimate kiss and deepening the bond we shared, I suddenly decided to press my luck as far as it would go. My hand came up from the grass and suddenly cupped over her far breast.  
  
Eve groaned in displeasure as she quickly grabbed my hand and pulled away from the kiss. Her eyes were full of confusion and suspicion.  
  
"What are you doing?" she asked me.  
  
"I just thought that... you could use a distraction."  
  
She quickly thought it over for a moment before responding, "... Maybe I do. You think you could... distract me?"  
  
"I'll do my best..."  
  
  
We then slipped back into our warm kiss. Eve softly moaned, welcoming me to her body as she took her hand off mine and placed it on the back of my head. Excitement and anticipation quickly surged through me as I played with her firm breast, listening to her gently moan against my lips in response.  
  
I began rubbing the side of my thumb against the center of her appendage, seeking out her nipple. At the same time, I gently pulled away from the kiss, placing slow and deep kisses against her cheek and her jaw. She continued to moan softly, her fingers slowly combing my hair. I rubbed my thumb against the increasingly prominent bump of her nipple.  
  
My tongue laved across her chin, moving underneath it as she tilted her head back. I explored the tan flesh of her neck and her throat where I felt the vibration of her airy breaths and moans. I shifted my body closer to her and flattened out my tongue, slowly drawing it up the length of her throat and up to her chin. I repeated the motion several times, infatuated with the sound of Eve's sweet voice.  
  
  
I kissed my way back up to her chin and brought my hand up toward her cheek, when suddenly she grabbed my hand again.  
  
"No," she quietly said as she looked me in the eye, "don't go back up—keep going down. Please, just go all the way and don't stop..."  
  
"If that's the way you want it," I softly replied before sliding my lips over her own. She was more than happy to accept my kiss.  
  
As Eve eagerly pushed her lips back into mine, my hands came down to the hem of her blouse and slid it up her body. She lifted her upper body to help me in exposing her lovely, dark, olive-colored skin. Our lips parted momentarily as she lifted her arms up and allowed me to pull her blouse over her head, down her arms.  
  
We immediately resumed our kiss while I slipped my hands behind her upper back. I quickly worked to unhook her bra, doing so in a personal best time. I then took her round breasts in both hands as her lips pulled away from mine with a moan.  
  
  
She carelessly tossed her bra away as I squeezed her firm breasts and kissed my way down her neck that still shone with my saliva. Her breasts were so beautifully warm and fit perfectly in my hands. She moaned more amorously once my lips reached her breasts. I teased her for just a moment by letting my tongue slide back up to her collarbone, hearing her mewl uncomfortably as she pushed down on the top of my head. I smiled to myself before moving my hands aside to explore the warm flesh of her breasts with my lips.  
  
Eve panted with increasing excitement as my hot tongue circled around the shape of her wondrous, sensitive appendages. I gradually made my way up to the peak where I sucked her hard, dark nipple into my mouth. She gasped and let out an airy moan while my tongue alternated between slow and rapid licks over her nipple. I groaned happily, sliding my lips further down her areola.  
  
She opened her hand and held the back of the head tightly. She then gazed down for a moment, panting and moaning, watching my wet lips latched tight around her breast and my hand tightly grasping the opposite one. She laid her head back on the grass, moaning in splendor as I fervently licked and sucked hard on her nipple.  
  
  
I then moved across her chest, my lips quickly grabbing onto her other nipple. She let out a moan of pleasure as I began to give it the same treatment as the first.  
  
"Ohh, Anthony...," she moaned. "Oh, my god... this is so surreal..."  
  
As I sucked her nipple, her free hand reached behind me and began to slowly, yet insistently, pull at the hem of my shirt. I calmly pulled away from her and straightened my back a bit. We looked into each others' eyes for just a moment while she continued to eagerly tug at my shirt.  
  
I then used both hands to remove my shirt, tossing it aside. She stared at my bare flesh and ran her hands across my chest, shoulders and arms almost as if she were in a trance. I stared at her while I sighed quietly in content. Eve's warm, soft hands felt so nice across my body. But then, she brought a hand much further down.  
  
Her hand calmly explored the crotch of my jeans, seeking out my male rod. She quickly found it and gasped softly. She looked up at me while her fingers traced the length of my penis.  
  
"You're so hard already...," she quietly remarked.  
  
"Can you blame me?" I replied, drawing an amused smile from her. I then asked, "I wonder how wet _you_ are right now?"  
  
"Why don't you find out?" she softly responded with an expression of pure seriousness on her face. I didn't need much more invitation than that.  
  
  
I hunched over her again, slowly drawing a hand down her trim belly. I popped the button of her tight jeans and unzipped them. She helped me to get them off, along with her panties. With the last article of clothing off her body, Eve's wonderful hourglass-shaped body was on full display.  
  
I then slowly drew my hand up her inner thigh, prompting her to unconsciously part her legs open. We continued to stare at each other while my hand patiently stroked the smooth skin of her inner thigh, building anticipation within her. I then drew a sharp gasp from her once my hand slid over the moist folds tucked between her legs.  
  
"Wow," I remarked. "You're _really_ wet..."  
  
"Can you blame me?" she softly replied with a slight smirk. I chuckled as I leaned in to briefly kiss her. At the same time, I began to slide my fingers along and inside Eve's wet pussy. She gasped as I toyed with the most sensitive part of her body, moaning and panting sharply. She gazed down for a moment to watch what I was doing before looking up at me with a needy gaze.  
  
  
"I want you so badly," she softly admitted. "Please... don't make me wait any longer..."  
  
I was slightly taken aback by her sudden request. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked.  
  
"Yes," she quickly replied as she took my hand away from her sex. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life..."  
  
I quietly obliged her by undoing my jeans and pulling them down with my boxers. Eve watched, captivated, as my erect member sprung free from its confines.  
  
  
I then kissed her once again, deeply and amorously, both of us moaning against one another. At the same time, I calmly maneuvered myself between her open legs, which is when she quickly placed a hand on my abdomen and pulled away from the kiss.  
  
"Wait," she uttered, bringing me to a halt. "Please be careful... not to finish inside me."  
  
I nodded in response, smiling reassuringly at her. She smiled back and placed her hands on my shoulders. We then both gazed down as she pulled her knees back to give me a much clearer view of her slippery, tanned folds.  
  
Both of us panted heavily with excitement, our hearts racing together. I carefully guided the head of my manhood to the point between her legs. Then, slowly and cautiously, I entered her.  
  
  
"Ohh, Anthony...," she lustfully whispered as she took me inside of her. I clenched tightly, quickly getting over the disbelief that I was penetrating beautiful Eve and came to my senses. She moaned, her blissfully hot muscles welcoming me into her lovely body and held on tight as I buried myself to the root inside her.  
  
We both breathed a sigh as I propped myself up onto my hands. I gazed upon her gorgeous body, glistening with sweat, which I was now a part of. She loosely wrapped her legs around my hips just before I slid back and eagerly pushed inside her again.  
  
I panted lustfully as I watched and listened to her moan in splendor with each thrust of my hips.  
  
"Ohh, yes...," she whispered, "just like that..."  
  
Hearing her cheer me on was so elating. I groaned lustfully to the sky as I worked to keep my hips rhythmic, pushing deeply and steadily into her. Her soft hands slowly caressed my neck and shoulders while the slippery, tight heat within her belly caressed every inch of my throbbing length. Under the sound of her sweet voice singing to me, I heard the quiet suckling Eve's body made at the point where we became one.  
  
  
"Mm, yeah...," I quietly uttered as a quick surge of pleasure swept through me.  
  
In that moment, we were nothing more than just a couple of lusty teenagers expressing our sexuality.  
  
The scent of her perfume emanated off her sweaty body, briefly overtaking my senses. Our bodies shifted and thrust against the gently crinkling grass beneath us. It was a welcome change to the indoors of school. It felt so good making love to her out in the open freedom of the outdoors.  
  
Eve pulled at my shoulders, beckoning me closer, causing me to slowly drop down onto my forearms. She greeted me by wrapping her arms around the back of my neck. My body rocked together with hers as her sparkling eyes opened halfway. We looked deeply into each others' lustful gaze, panting and moaning at one another.  
  
She then spoke, her voice erupting from a soft cry of pleasure.  
  
"Mm, don't stop...," she panted. "Please don't stop..."  
  
  
I grit my teeth as I began to thrust into her harder and more vigorously. Almost immediately she began to cry out in intense delight. She grabbed the back of my head tightly, pulling me even closer. I panted and groaned, baring my teeth, my body flooded with ecstasy and elation. She was so blissfully tight, her walls shifting all around me in excitement.  
  
Eve's body writhed and bucked as I incessantly drilled into the core of her ravishing body. Her cries were sharp, high-pitched, splendrous—I couldn't get enough of their sweet tune. She kept me tightly against her, my face buried into her neck as we rocked harmoniously in a sea of absolutely glorious pleasure.  
  
I was consumed within the warmth of her body, feeling my burning loins quickly starting to tighten up.  
  
"I'm... cumming!!" she suddenly exclaimed.  
  
"So am I...!" I groaned in response.  
  
Eve trembled intensely and held on tight as my sharp thrusting slowed considerably. She uttered a long, guttural groan and I felt her hot climax gush out of her just as I grabbed my cock and pulled out. Our fluids spilled into the grass and mixed, both of us moaning as we reached the peak of ecstasy together.  
  
Once I'd finished, I wrapped my arms around her and held her just in time to feet the last few shudders quake her body. She then uttered a long, relieved sigh. Her body went loose as she rested comfortably on the grass, both of us sweating and panting heavily.  
  
  
Our arms gradually unraveled from around one another and I rolled over onto my back to lie next to her. We rested to catch our breath as I just looked up at the sky in a euphoric daze. A smile spread across my face, gazing over at her in all her beautiful, sweaty glory. To know that I had just had sex with someone as gorgeous and amazing as her excited me beyond belief. She soon looked over at me, catching a glimpse of my enthused expression and returned it in kind.  
  
She sighed happily. "That was incredible," she remarked before rolling onto her side toward me. She draped an arm over my chest and a leg over my own, purring and resting comfortably on me. "I needed that _so_ badly," she remarked as we looked at each other.  
  
"Did I distract you, though?" I asked, feeling cheeky. She chuckled and grinned happily.  
  
"You _certainly_ did," she amorously replied. She craned her neck in, moaning softly as we shared a kiss to celebrate our accomplishment. She then rested her head on my shoulder and I listened to her sigh in content as both of us closed our eyes.  
  
  
"You were amazing," she quietly remarked. My lips spread into a great, big smile as she gently rubbed my shoulder and chest.  
  
"Anything I can do to help," I replied.  
  
"You **would** say that," she said with a brief laugh. I chortled quietly in response.  
  
She then calmly shifted away from me, causing me to watch her as she sat up and stretched her arms to the sky.  
  
"Well," she said as she picked up my clothes from the ground and tossed them onto my chest, "I'm definitely ready for lunch _now_."  
  
I chuckled happily and sat up with her. "Sounds good."  
  
The two of us then got up and put our clothes back on, all the while smirking at each other. Oh, the things that teenagers will do when they won't get in trouble for it.  
  
  
By the time we were both fully clothed, I realized I was pretty damn hungry. But I wasn't hungry enough to throw my arms out and have her quietly laugh as she walked toward me and shared a deep embrace with me.  
  
"Thank you," she softly spoke, gently stroking the back of my head. "You've been really wonderful to me the past couple of days. I don't think I'd be feeling half as good as I do now if not for you."  
  
I smiled and replied to her by turning my head and placing a kiss on her temple. She sighed happily before I then pulled away from her. We looked at each other once more for a brief moment while I gently rubbed the sides of her arms. I then took her hand in mine and began to lead her off the grass, just the same as I had led her onto it.  
  
"I know I was just upset and lashing at you," she said as we walked, "but I was way off saying that 'all guys are assholes.' You definitely proved that to me."  
  
"Sweet, I'm not a total asshole," I replied with a slick grin as I looked at her. She chuckled softly. "Like I said, anything I can do to help."  
  
She chuckled again as she playfully rested her head on my shoulder. The two of us then walked back into the stairwell, allowing her to go first as I held the door open. I followed her inside and let the door close behind me as we stood at the same spot where I had stopped time.  
  
  
"So," I said with a sigh as we looked at each other, "time to get back to normal life."  
  
"Yes it is," she softly replied with a warm smile. "I'll never, ever forget this—for as long as I live. This was... God... so mind-blowing and so amazing. I never thought you were... ya' know... a really great lover."  
  
"Did you or did you not say I was very 'mysterious' yesterday?"  
  
She chuckled. "Yes, I did."  
  
"Well, I'm just full of surprises."  
  
"I'm glad for that," she said with a big grin. "I'm really happy that I can call you one of my close friends."  
  
"Same here," I said with a smile. "By the way, you don't mind if I have lunch with my other friends, do you? I don't want them to feel like I'm ditching them two days in a row. But, at the same time, I don't want you to feel like I'm ditching _you_."  
  
"No, no, it's perfectly fine!" she insistently said. "I should talk one-on-one with Lila anyway. She's pretty worried about me."  
  
"Well, this is it, then," I said. "You ready?"  
  
She quickly leaned in and gave me one more quick kiss before pulling back with a smile.  
  
"Ready," she replied. The two of us shared a chuckle before I resumed time once again.  
  
  
I opened the stairwell door and almost immediately, Lila spotted her friend.  
  
"There you are," she said as she quickly rushed to Eve and hugged her tightly. I easily saw the concern on Lila's face for her friend. It was a side of her I'd personally never seen before. I walked past the two and began to head toward the cafeteria. I took one more look back to see Eve, still in the middle of their hug, gently wave to me. I smiled back to her and continued on my way.  
  
I breathed a huge sigh of content. I found myself unconsciously puffing out my chest as I casually strutted to go see my friends. My confidence had soared sky-high at that point. I felt on top of the world; completely untouchable.  
  
Of course there just had to be someone to prove me wrong...


	7. Confrontation

I entered the opposite side of the cafeteria from where my friends and I usually sit. I waved to them as I walked by from a distance, but they seemed preoccupied with talking to each other. I shrugged it off and headed into the line to get my lunch. When I walked back out, my friends seemed as though they were on the lookout for me. I snickered to myself, realizing they were probably ready to poke fun at me nonstop for my kiss with Nora. I sighed happily as I approached them.

"Hey guys," I said in a merry tone. All of them were staring intensely at me as I placed my tray of food on the table.

" **Don't** sit down," Frank insistently said. "Just go—quick."

I looked at him in confusion, grinning and scoffing. They were most likely playing some kind of trick on me.

"What?" I asked. "What are you talking ab–"

" **There you are!** " a boisterous, male voice exclaimed somewhere behind me. I turned around and my jaw hung agape in shock at the sight of who was marching straight toward me, flanked by a couple of his friends.

 

"I'm sorry, Anthony," Nora quietly said, causing me to quickly turn my attention to her. She had an incredibly worried look in her eyes. "One of my boyfriend's **stupid** friends saw us kiss. ...He knows about it and he's really upset."

"You've **got** to be kidding me," I muttered under my breath as I turned my attention back around again.

I could not _believe_ who Nora's boyfriend was: none other than Nick's aforementioned douchebag cousin, Jason.

My mind suddenly became a cauldron of mixed emotions. I was as ready to confront Jason over the issue at the same time I wanted to just walk away and avoid a scene. Instead, I stayed put and kept my eyes carefully trained on him.

Jason's eyes narrowed, sticking his head out to me as he approached.

 

" **You?** " Jason asked in disbelief. " **You're** the punk that had your lips on my girl, little boy?"

I stared at him with a contemptuous sneer. Immediately I wondered where the hell all my confidence went? Just **seeing** his face made me want to ram my fist through it as hard as I could. The fact that he wanted to confront me over something as harmless and miniscule as a kiss between friends irritated me.

However, I took a deep breath and found my cool again. I looked him squarely in the eyes as I quietly responded.

"Yeah. What about it?" I asked. Behind me, my friends looked on with worry.

Jason scoffed as he turned to one of his friends with an amused shake of his head. He then stood up tall, trying to intimidate me with the size discrepancy of a good few inches between us—but it wasn't working. I stared at him, unimpressed.

"You really shouldn't be kissing other guys' girls," he said. "I mean, **you** wouldn't know shit about that since you **never** had a girlfriend ever." His friends laughed.

 

"Look," I calmly said, "Nora and I are just friends, that's it."

"Good," he replied with a smirk. "I like hearing that. You just saved your own ass, little punk. And shit better stay that way or I'm gonna have to beat your ass like I used to do every day in middle school. Nora's **my** property, bitch— **don't** forget it." He then patted both his friends on the chest before turning away from me. "Come on, let's go," he said to them before they began to walk away.

Needless to say, I didn't like this guy at _all_. He was an unrepentant asshole to everyone and everything in middle school. Good to see some things never change.

However..., things were a lot different _now_ than in middle school.

 

I amplified the tone of my voice and called out to him. "She's **not** your property." My remark brought him to a sudden halt. My heart skipped a beat in fear when he suddenly turned around and began to walk back up to me.

"The fuck did you just say?" he threateningly spoke as he shoved his chest into mine, pushing me back a bit. "Huh? You say something, faggot?"

I was shaking ever so slightly in a mix of anger and fear. I clenched my fists, but held back my desire to hit him. What the hell was it with girls' boyfriends around here anyway? First Eve, and now this. By now, though, our confrontation had attracted a number of eyeballs from all around the cafeteria.

I huffed sharply, standing tall against him. "I said, 'she's **not** your property.' Is that too hard to understand for you?"

He scoffed and stepped back, looking to one of his friends. "This kid...," he remarked as his friend nodded and smirked cruelly.

Out of nowhere, Jason thrust his fist forward and caught me square on the cheek. I only remember a loud, dull thud, my vision rattled as I stumbled down to a knee amongst the muted cheers of nearby students. My voice resounded loudly in my head as I groaned and held my cheek, my other hand propped on the floor for balance.

 

"Anthony!!" I just barely heard Nora shout in horror. I clenched my eyes and shook my head to try to rid myself of the popping stars I was seeing. My hearing gradually returned to normal as I looked over to see that a great number of students, both sitting and standing, had turned their attention to the spectacle. It was exactly what I was hoping to avoid, but this situation absolutely needed a resolution.

My friends were on their feet, ready to intervene on my behalf. I wasn't going to let them do that. I needed to take care of this by myself.

"Get the fuck up!" Jason shouted as he shoved my head. "I ain't done with you!"

My eyes were locked on Jason as I grit my teeth. I ignored the pain in my face and calmly rose to my feet, standing before him once again. I groaned quietly, gently rubbing my cheek and stretching my jaw out in all directions.

"I forgot how easy you were to hit," he remarked with a laugh. Then, my hand fell away from my face and I shot him a confident smirk.

"You're not going to do that twice," I coolly said.

"Oh yeah?" he wondered aloud as he arrogantly grinned at me. "You really think that, huh, bitch?"

 

His grin quickly faded when he stepped forward slightly and went to strike me with his fist again. Just as he did, I beat his oncoming punch with the blink of an eye. Everything went completely silent and I found myself standing before his inanimate body, his fist mere inches away from my face. He had really thrown his balance into the strike and I knew that it would've definitely hurt worse than the first one. However, it also presented a perfect opportunity to one-up him.

I took a brief look around, noticing just how many eyeballs were staring at me. I didn't like this set-up. Way too many people were about to witness me outsmart him. But I couldn't let this jackass get the better of me. I needed to send him a message that messing with me was not an option anymore, and neither was his treatment of my friend Nora. If I had to use my new power to do so... then so be it.

I closed my eyes and sighed heavily to steady my shaky nerves. When I opened them again, I began to calmly plan out my next move. I leaned the weight of my body onto one foot and tilted myself just enough to the side to stay out of his line of attack. I hoped that my plan would turn out successfully. There was only one way to find out.

 

Once I was ready to face the consequences of my actions, I blinked once again and immediately felt his fist breeze by my cheek.

"Whoa!" one of his friends exclaimed at the same time I heard Nora gasp.

"The **fuck?** " Jason exclaimed in disbelief. The cafeteria erupted into loud murmuring. Everyone else watching on was equally in shock.

"Oh shit, he missed," I heard someone say.

"He was so fast!" someone else exclaimed. "Like a ninja or some shit!"

 

Before Jason could follow up, I shoved his chest hard. He grunted and stumbled back a few steps. I shot him an expression of spite as he looked at me in confusion. Despite how tough I looked, I was as scared as I'd ever been.

" **Don't** try that again," I said as I narrowed my eyes. "I promise it's not going to be pretty."

"Holy shit!" an onlooker exclaimed. "That kid is crazy!"

Jason chest began to heave in anger. "You little **bitch!** " he shouted as he quickly marched up to me. "I'm gonna–"

He was cut off abruptly when I stopped time again. Jason's hands were extended toward me, likely to shove me right back. My heart was racing a mile a minute. I decided to take a brief moment to catch my breath. I stepped away from Jason and turned around, clenching my fists several times.

 

I was still shaking with nervousness as I turned to face him once more. Jason had terrorized me unmercifully when I was younger and as a result it made me extremely bitter and fearful towards him. I wondered for a moment if I could use my power to unfreeze just him and then show him my newfound strength as I wail on him. A cruel smile spread across my lips as I envisioned him bloodied, pleading for mercy while I refuse to listen to him and continue kicking him while he's down. I could then just take his head and drive it into the floor over and over and—

No. ...I wasn't going to be like him. The entire point of this was to stand my ground and assert myself, not to be a barbarian. After all, wasn't I a lover and not a fighter?

I shook my head to get the violent images out of my mind. I then pursed my lips and began to look at the situation more analytically. Again, he had unknowingly leaned his body weight toward me all in the attempt to get as much power as he could out of his strikes. I knew I could use that to my advantage... but how? I stepped to the side and studied his posture for a moment. I then humphed and smirked happily as I came up with the simple counter-attack—just trip him.

However, I wanted more punch to it than just comically sticking my leg out in front of him. I was going go with a risky, yet extremely rewarding idea. If it worked, it'd cause him a little pain and one hell of an embarrassment.

I positioned myself just to the side of him once again, putting my weight on my inner leg while I reared the other leg back. I exhaled sharply, keeping my aim on his tibia. I _really_ hoped I was good enough at timing so as not to shatter my own tibia in the process.

 

In one extremely quick motion, I kicked forward and blinked my eyes, hearing the chatter of countless voices just as I kicked his legs out from under him. He shouted in surprise and then uttered a ridiculously pathetic moan as he landed hard on his chest.

" **Ohhh~!!** " came the raucous cheers from the cafeteria as Jason groaned in pain.

"Holy damn...," Frank remarked in disbelief. Nora looked on with eyes as wide as the glasses she wore.

I calmly stepped away and watched him as numerous students cheered and went wild all around me.

"Hey, man!" someone exclaimed in a shrill voice behind me. "That was fucking **great!!** "

I didn't care for the praise. I only kept my eyes on Jason with an intensely serious look on my face. He groaned loudly as he slowly lifted himself onto his forearms. One of his friends laughed as he walked over to him.

"You okay?" he asked. Jason groaned again, slowly getting to his feet and rubbing his chest for a moment. The two of us stared intensely at each other. I prepared for the very real possibility that he was going to come after me again, though I was really hoping he didn't.

 

"I swear to God," he said as he began to walk away while keeping his eyes locked on me, "this shit's not over. I'm gonna **fuck you up** for this."

He then walked away with his two friends by his side, his shoulders tense with anger, barging out of the cafeteria.

By then, most of the other students had already gone back to eating and talking to their friends. I closed my eyes and rubbed the back of my neck, sighing heavily in relief. I was really thankful **that** was over.

When I opened my eyes again, Nora was already making her way over to me. She looked like she was a second away from breaking down in tears as she neared me.

 

"Are you okay?" she softly asked, reaching up to tilt my face and get a good look at my cheek.

"I'm fine," I casually replied. "Might have bit my cheek or something when he hit me, but I'm good."

Her hand fell away, looking at me with the most sorrowful expression I'd ever seen from her. She sniffled and shook her head in disbelief. Tears fell down her face as she grabbed the chest of my shirt and buried her face there.

"I'm so sorry," she quietly said, her voice cracking.

I quietly laughed. "Jeez, all I wanted was to have lunch, not a boxing match," I joked with a playful smile. My smile slowly faded as she broke down right in front of me. She was obviously really upset about the entire situation, especially considering my usually _amazing_ jokes had no effect on her. I sighed deeply, closing my eyes as I put my arms around her and allowed her to let it all out.

She sobbed quietly, practically crushing her glasses into my chest while I held her tightly. I looked over at the others for just a moment. Frank nodded to me and I once again gave him a thumbs-up to let him know everything was cool.

 

After a few minutes, Nora's crying slowly came to an end. She pulled her face away from me, taking off her glasses and reaching into her back pocket for a handkerchief. She huffed and sniffled as she dabbed the tears from her eyes and then proceeded to clean her glasses.

"Are you okay now?" I asked.

"Yeah...," she sighed. I smiled at her as she looked up at me. I didn't want her to be so upset. None of what happened was her fault, no matter how much I knew she wanted to believe it was.

"Come on," I said as I began to lead her over to the others, "let's go have lunch."

"Okay," she whispered as she headed to her seat across from mine.

"Yes," I preemptively said to the others as I took a seat, "I **am** okay. Don't worry about it."

"Wow, Anthony," Frank remarked in awe, "that was the most... craziest thing I've ever _seen_."

"I told you guys," Brandon said as he put an arm around my neck, "the boy's on his way to hulking up real soon. He's going to be a bigger Mr. Olympia than Schwarzenegger in a few years—just watch."

"Pretty sure that takes food to get there," I replied with a grin.

"Eat up, man," he said as he took his arm away. "You earned it."

I didn't need much more than that to start digging in and enjoy my food.

 

After everything Eve and I had done together as well as the fight with Jason, I was extremely happy to finally eat. Even though my jaw hurt like hell, I didn't let it stop me. I was just glad all my teeth were still intact. The rest of my friends were also content to eating their food, having only some mild conversation between them. Nora was also able to settle down enough to finish her food.

Eventually some guy came up to me and vigorously patted me on the back as he walked by.

"Good job, man!" he exclaimed, turning to me. I only gave him a brief, disinterested glance in response before turning back to my food. He just shook his head, he and his friend laughing in amusement as they walked outside. I really didn't care for any attention and was ready to make any attempts I could to keep myself out of the spotlight.

Not long after, the bell caught us all off guard.

"All right," I said as we all got up together. "I'll see you guys later."

"See ya, Anthony," Frank replied. As I walked away to throw my tray in the trash, he and the others gave me one last look before parting ways.

I was glad none of my friends made a big deal out of it and were willing to just move on. Of course, that was the reason they were my friends—they understood me so well.

 

Once class had resumed, I picked up where I had left off in my work without skipping a beat. I was fortunate enough that nobody had noticed or at least pointed out the mark on my cheek. I was really not looking forward to talking about it with anyone. Still, I was in the clear in terms of having to explain what happened. I simply focused on my work and put it behind me.

The bell to end class soon rung out. I glanced up at the clock and then began to calmly put my belongings away. As I stood up to slide my backpack over my shoulders, I noticed a figure come to a halt just beside me. I quickly looked over to see Jennifer, smirking arrogantly at me. She didn't say a word as she grabbed my chin and gently turned my head to inspect the bruise on my cheek.

"Nice," she remarked, bringing her hand in front of me to fall onto my far shoulder. "I bet that was fun, huh?"

"You know me," I replied with a smirk, "I love getting my ass kicked."

She then carefully studied me for a moment, her hand gently rubbing my shoulder.

"I told you not to change," she quietly spoke. "You remember that, right?"

"I do. But you never said anything about bettering myself."

She smiled and humphed softly. "You're right," she remarked with a quiet sigh. "Maybe you are coming into your own, Anthony. I'm all for it, as long as it doesn't mean you constantly get your ass handed to you."

"I'll be fine," I reassured her with a confident smile.

She nodded and then gave me a gentle kiss on the temple.

"See you later," she whispered in my ear while playfully scratching the back of my head. She let her hand fall away and calmly took her leave.

 

I smiled as she walked away. It felt unbelievably good to know others had my back—especially someone who's usually as detached as Jennifer. I looked to the side and saw Eve smiling at me, having watched that entire exchange. She simply smiled and gently waved 'goodbye' to me. I waved back before she left the room with Lila. I readjusted my backpack and headed for the door with a small group of other students. As I waited for the crowd to pass, I was bumped hard from the side—by Elizabeta, of course.

"Papi," she casually greeted me with a smirk as she passed by. Just behind her was Sofia, who also looked at me with a smile.

"See you after school," Sofia said.

"You got it," I replied back with a slight grin. How lucky I was that they weren't facing the messed-up side of my face.

 

I made it out into the hallway and slipped past a few people in an attempt to get to Spanish class quicker. In my endeavor, I suddenly found myself positioned right behind Natalie who was casually talking to one of her friends. I found myself in awe of her splendrous frame just inches away from me. Her immaculately matured body, filled out in all the right places and broadcast by the unnecessarily tight clothes she was wearing was a sight I was unable to turn away from. I shuddered at the sight of her incredible ass swaying from side to side as she walked. How was it possible that she was actually the same **age** as me?

"Yeah, we're going to the beach on Saturday," she said to her friend.

"Where at?" her friend replied.

"Over by that new building there, the Apex. I'm meeting a friend who lives there and then we're gonna hang out on the beach, tan for a bit, check out cute guys and stuff." Her friend chuckled. "We're going at around two-ish. Maybe earlier."

My jaw dropped in amazement. I couldn't believe such an appealing prospect was taking place. Gorgeous Natalie and her incredible body were going to be just across the street from where I lived. Well, I knew what I was doing on Saturday. And I was sure if I played it right, it could also be _who_ I was doing on Saturday.

 

I walked into Spanish class and noticed both Sarah and Jordan were at their seats before me. That was a first.

"Hey you two," I said as I slipped off my backpack

"Hey," Sarah replied as Jordan rummaged through her backpack. Sarah looked like she was holding back a laugh for some reason. I thought that was pretty strange and just knew it had to do with me somehow. I shrugged it off and took my seat.

Not even a minute later I felt a couple quick squirts of water hit the back of my head. I held my head and quickly turned around with a stunned expression. Jordan had a small squirt gun aimed right at me. The two of them broke out into laughter.

I scoffed in amusement as I brushed the water out of my hair.

"Seriously?" I asked as they gave each other a high five. "A water gun? What is this, third grade?"

"I told you I'd get you back!" Jordan exclaimed with a big grin as she put the gun away.

Sarah chuckled softly. "You know we were just havin' fun."

She then gave me the most beautiful, disarming smile that made my heart flutter. I couldn't help but smile back in response.

"Yeah," I casually replied. "I guess I should be thankful that you didn't throw eggs at me or pants me."

"Oh, both of those crossed my mind," Jordan said with a devious grin. I sighed and rolled my eyes as I sat forward again.

 

We soon settled into class and started taking notes of what Ms. Adanna was writing down on the whiteboard. In the back of my mind, I wondered about Nora and how she was doing. I remembered Jason pretty much swearing revenge on me, but I hoped that revenge wouldn't involve her. I mean, the guy _was_ a complete asshole... but would that carry over into his relationship? No..., probably not. He was more pissed at me rather than at her.

Later on, during a spoken assignment, I found myself once again fawning over Ms. Adanna with an adoring smile on my face. I eyed her from head to toe, idly counting how many buttons were on her pink, long-sleeved blouse and the last one on her black dress pants. I couldn't understand how she always managed to look so gorgeous, even in such modest clothing. I held my head in my hand, sighing and watching her long legs slowly pace back and forth while speaking to the class.

Being in the front row made my staring pretty transparent. Ms. Adanna soon looked over at me with a curious gaze.

"Anthony?" she spoke up, causing me to snap back to reality. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Oh, yeah," I replied with a casual wave of my hand as I straightened my back. "I just had a big lunch."

"Okay," the teacher replied with a slight chuckle, "just making sure you're with us."

I heard some quiet snickering from other students. I practically felt their eyes from all across the room staring at me. And yet, I smiled contently and kept my eyes on the teacher as she went back to her lesson.

I heard Jordan lean in and whisper behind me, "Smooth!" I smirked and shook my head.

 

Class ended not long thereafter. It was time to move onto my Driving class. I quickly put my things away and got up with my backpack, immediately locking my eyes on Jordan to make sure she wasn't trying to soak me again. She looked up at me with an innocently playful smirk, pretending to shoot a gun at me.

"Bang-bang," she said as Sarah giggled in amusement. I smiled and wagged a finger at her, certain I'd stopped her from getting the drop on me. I then left the two girls behind and took to the hallways. Along the way, I passed by the lockers where Talia and I had our few moments of fun. I noticed the stain I had left behind was finally cleaned up. I could only laugh in amusement, wondering how awkward that must have been to clean up.

I burst out of the building with a happy sigh—after all, school was almost out for the day. Being outside for fifth period was always such a tease, as I knew I'd have to go back inside the main building one last time for sixth period. Until then, I walked into our annexed classroom and took my seat while waiting for my friends to arrive.

After I set my backpack down on the floor, I heard Frank laugh as the three of them walked into class. I grinned to them as they approached me and took their seats behind me.

 

"Hey–" I went to speak, only to be interrupted by Frank.

"Anthony," he quickly and quietly spoke, "you **have** to tell us how you did that."

I was a bit stunned at the request.

"Yeah," Josh chimed in, "we didn't want to say anything about it while Nora was so upset but... man, we had **no** idea you could move like that!"

"We are your students," Brandon said, placing his hands together and respectfully bowing his head to me. "Teach us, o great sensei."

I quietly laughed in amusement. "Nah," I casually replied. "I'm no great sensei. It was just reflexes and luck, that's all."

"Pardon the French," Frank said, "but bull- **shit**. You totally kicked that guy's ass!"

I shook my head in disagreement. "I was just defending myself," I replied. "I was just upset for Nora's sake, having to deal with that idiot for a boyfriend."

Josh then turned his attention to Frank, "How _is_ Nora doing, anyway?"

"I saw her during Chemistry," Frank said. "She seemed better than at lunch. She's still kind of upset, though." He then turned to me. "She said she was more worried about **you**."

"Why me?" I asked.

He shrugged. "She said she's worried about that threat _Jason_ made to you. She thinks he's really going to follow up on it."

I sighed heavily. That wasn't what I was hoping to hear.

 

During our class assignment, I found myself preoccupied enough to lose focus on my work. I kept thinking about Jason and Nora. Nora was, of course, his girlfriend but... how well did she know him? Did she know him enough to really know he would try to come after me again?

I then quietly sighed. Unfortunately, I had to agree with her sentiment. Sure, I had a handful of bad-ass powers now but the fear that Jason had instilled in me over the years had a grip on me. It wasn't going to just erase itself. Not unless... not unless I actually _gave_ him a reason to back off. Again, I was not willing to fall to his level of viciousness just to make a statement. So, I was forced to play the waiting game until Jason decided to make his move. Before that happened, though, I was in for some mental unrest.

 

Class finished up sooner than I'd realized. I was actually a bit down that I didn't get to finish my work, but I'd have to just make it up at home. I had a pretty sternly thoughtful expression on my face as I got up and cinched my backpack over my shoulders.

"Whoa," Brandon spoke up, grabbing my attention, "what was with that look? You looked like you were plotting to take over the world or something." Frank and Josh chuckled in amusement.

"Just thinking about Nora," I replied with a shrug.

"Don't sweat it, man," he casually said. "Nora and I always walk home together. I'll check on her and make sure she's good. Okay?"

"Thanks," I smirked at him as he gave me a reassuring pat on the arm. The four of us then made our way out of class together.

 

Outside, we said our 'goodbye's and each of us headed off to our next class. Just as I began to walk away, I felt a hand grab my shoulder and bring me to a halt. In the back of my mind I somehow expected it to be Jason and so I quickly spun around, striking a defensive stance.

"Whoa!" Nick exclaimed as he leaned back. "What's all that for?" I sighed and loosened up.

"Sorry about that," I said. "Guess I'm just a little jumpy."

"I can see that," he replied with a chuckle, placing a reassuring hand on the back of my shoulder and began to walk back to the main building with me. "I can imagine why. Jason, right?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"He and I have fourth together. He likes to talk— **a lot**. I'm like his verbal punching bag." We then opened the double doors and walked back inside. "He told me about what happened at lunch. He's pretty pissed."

"I gathered that much," I replied, furring my brow and stuffed my hands in my pockets. He smiled at how serious I was.

"Well, I wish I could sugar-coat it but I think he's looking for a rematch. Only this time, it's going to be uglier. I tried to talk him out of it, but you know he's a stubborn asshole."

"I do know him," I quietly replied, my senses flooding with anger as unpleasant memories came back to haunt me.

"Hey," he said as he came to a stop and placed his hands on my shoulders, looking me squarely in the eyes. "You **got** the better of him—you can sure as hell do it again. I don't have any control over him and, really, I wish I did in this situation. He's a dick and everyone knows it. The question is, what are **you** going to do about it?"

I thought hard about my answer. "I know I'm not going to stoop to his level," I replied with a nod.

"Good man," he said, extending a hand to me which I quickly took in my own and shook. "I'm gonna head to my sixth now. See you around—hopefully after you kick his ass a second time."

I smiled and nodded to him as our hands fell away from each other. I headed into the nearby stairwell, feeling pretty damn good after that little pep talk. I knew the most important thing for me was not to lose my cool. Confidence was definitely the key. As long as I had that, I was ready for whatever Jason had planned for me.

 

While I couldn't purge the thoughts of Jason, Nora and Nick from my head during my English classwork, I was certainly more focused on my tasks. I just had to be cool about the whole situation, relax and let it go. I couldn't let those thoughts overwhelm me because that was going to be my downfall. I wasn't going to let the next time I saw Jason's face cause me to cower and flee in fear. I was **ready** to take him head-on.

_Rip._

I stared blankly at my sheet of paper and the hole I just shoved my pen through. Seemed like I was little _too_ ready for him. Taking it down a notch seemed like a good idea.

After all, how many other people did I know that could stop time? Make stuff appear? Lift heavy objects with little effort? The foundation was set. The confidence was there. All I needed to do was embrace it and make it my own. I sighed as I idly ran my thumb over the hole in my paper a few times. My eyes then widened in shock at what I saw.

I took a closer look at the hole and saw tiny threads starting to hold the paper together. I pulled my head back and ran my thumb over it some more before inspecting it again. I was astonished—the paper was as good as new. I took a look at it, front and back, while my lips spread into a huge grin. I glanced around to make sure nobody was looking at my odd behavior before setting the paper down on my desk.

I was starting to wonder if there was anything I couldn't do.

 

The final bell rang out. I grabbed my backpack and promptly headed out of the classroom before the initial rush of students surged through the halls. No one was watching when I decided to stop time and give myself another huge head-start out of the building. Once I went downstairs and reached the door that led outside, I resumed time before shoving the door open and barging out with a confident stride.

I boarded the bus and placed my backpack on the floor in front of my usual seat. I then rested my back against the window, casually sprawling out on the seat with one ankle over the other, my hands folded behind my head. I closed my eyes with a content smile on my face as I listened to the other kids filling up the bus and talking amongst each other. A short time later, the bus began to roll away and take us back home.

As I gently rocked back and forth from the ride, I could only imagine what my fellow bus riders thought seeing me so comfortable and chill on my own seat. Did I feel like I was getting big-headed? Not at all. I was merely embracing my confidence to do the things I'd always wanted to do. I mean, it _did_ get me laid by three different girls.

 

The bus came to a stop in its usual place and fanned out its blinking 'STOP' signs. I hopped up, slung my backpack over one shoulder and held onto it while I exited. I was pleasantly surprised to see Sofia standing there on the sidewalk, a smile upon her face as she waited for me.

"Hey there," I politely greeted her. She cutely laughed and smiled even wider as we began to cross the street together.

"So, how was _your_ day?" she inquisitively asked once we reached the sidewalk.

"Oh, you know," I casually replied. "Same old, same old."

She laughed again, although it quickly faded when she took a hard look at me.

"Wait a minute," she said, bringing me to a halt. She touched my face and tilted it to the side. I immediately knew what she was looking at. "How did you get this bruise?" she asked with concern in her voice. I couldn't just lie to her.

 

"I... sort of fought some guy," I said.

She gasped, stunned. "You got into a _fight_?!" she exclaimed, staring at me in shock as we began to walk again.

I shrugged. "Well, yeah. It wasn't a **big** deal."

"Are you okay?" she softly asked.

"I took this little number to the face but other than that, I'm good."

She sighed and smiled. "I'm glad you got out of there before you got even more hurt."

"Oh," I remarked, "I didn't run away—I fought him." Her jaw dropped. "And... I guess you could say I won."

"What?" she asked in disbelief. "Yeah, right."

"No, I'm serious," I said with a laugh. "He went for me again so I knocked him down. He took a pretty hard fall. Then he ran off, _swearing revenge_ on me."

 

"... Wow," she remarked, unsure of what to say. "That's... crazy!" I laughed again. "I don't know whether to be impressed or concerned."

"You should definitely be _impressed_ ," I said in a deep voice as I flexed my biceps. "I'm stronger than I look."

She smiled, but it quickly faded as we rounded the corner by our building.

"It's just that," she spoke, "I don't think of you as someone that gets into _fights_."

"It's not like I went looking for one," I replied as I held the gate open for her. "He came at me and the whole thing just blew up. There wasn't really any talking him out of it though, he was pissed."

"What happened?" she asked whilst strolling together on the outer exercise path.

"Well, his girlfriend is my friend and we shared a kiss. Then, he found out about it and wanted to kick my ass over it." She gave me a somewhat suspicious glance. "What? It was just a kiss between _friends_ , nothing more."

"It's okay. I believe you," she reassuringly said. "I just don't want to have to worry about you."

"I can take care of myself—trust me."

"... I do trust you," she quietly remarked with a warm smile.

I turned to her with a smile of my own. It felt so great to really get to bond with such a gorgeous girl as her. She was just as lovely on the inside as she was outside.

 

We were buzzed into the front door and I once again held it open for her. She stifled a laugh as I came in behind her and the two of us then waited for the elevator. I followed her onto it and both of us quickly pressed for our respective floors.

"So," I spoke up after the doors closed, "I guess you could say you and I are friends now?"

"Definitely," she replied with a sweet smile and an adorable tilt of her head. "You're really sweet, Anthony—I wish I had more friends like you."

She had such a beautiful, room-lighting smile and I couldn't help but smile back at her. Just being in her presence felt wonderfully warm and soothing. Then, the elevator then dinged as it stopped on my floor.

"See you tomorrow," I said as I stepped out onto the carpeted floor.

"See ya," she replied. I turned the corner but then playfully bent my body back just enough to see her. She giggled and waved at me before the doors closed shut. I breathed happily and left for home with a huge smile on my face.

 

That night, I laid on my belly in bed as I did my homework. I had a big smile on my face all throughout, thinking about Eve, Sofia and Nora. Even the occasional thought of Jason creeping into my head didn't take away from my good mood. I was only able to look at the positives, and the positives were looking very good.

Once I finished up, I dropped my pen onto my notebook and rolled over to sit on the edge of the bed. I stood up, taking a look outside my window through the open, hanging blinds. I smiled as I gazed upon the sight of the illuminated city from afar. I got the sense that bigger and better things were in store for me. Something like a silly bump in the road with Jason wasn't going to detract me from that. I then headed for my computer desk and sat down to watch TV and kill some time on the internet before calling it a night.

 

I awoke the next morning with another pleasant smile on my face. It was Friday, the day of the school week I always looked forward to. I stretched out and yawned before smacking my lips. I then threw my sheet off my body and sat up on the bed. I rubbed my face with both hands, but soon came to a slow halt as I noticed something about my arms. Upon closer inspection, I saw some visible definition in my muscles. I began to curiously flex them around in all directions. There was definitely a slight bulge of lean muscle there on my skinny arms.

I quickly shuffled into the bathroom and took off my shirt, gazing upon the barely noticeable tone of muscle in my chest and the slight tightness in my abdominals. Although there wasn't too much 'muscle' to speak of, it was certainly more than I had before.

"Wow," I quietly remarked in reaction. A smile slowly spread across my lips as I couldn't take my eyes off the mirror. I was starting to feel like one of those self-absorbed gym monkeys. I then harkened back to the previous morning when I lifted the desk with little effort.

Apparently lifting my heavy computer desk once was the magical secret to getting ripped.

I was feeling _awesome_ about my physique. It made me wonder if I should've started wearing sleeveless t-shirts to school. Maybe I could even flex and 'Hulk' out of my t-shirts to impress the girls. That'd be pretty damn sweet. Regardless, I decided to once again wear my usual outfit of a loose t-shirt and jeans.

 

Out on the sidewalk, I strutted along with my hands in my pockets. The morning air was a little warmer than usual, which was pleasant. I began to secretly hope that it would eventually get hot enough to cover my body in sweat and force me to take my shirt off. I smirked mischievously at the very thought of removing my shirt in the middle of the school courtyard, endless girls swooning over my looks as I glistened like a pale-white Adonis in the sunlight.

At the bus stop, I kept my hands in my pockets. I gazed around at everyone else with a big, confident smirk. I was tensing my arms and stuck my chest out, hoping that someone would notice my physique.

But then, a realization suddenly hit me.

I had already decided before that I wasn't going to use my powers to show off or brag or be overall reckless. The same should be true for my new look. ...But, then again, if a girl came up to me wanting to touch my muscles... well, I would happily take such a request.

Still, I so badly wanted to flex my biceps and go, 'Hey, check these babies out!' Of course, there wasn't much to show but I couldn't help feeling good about it. I sighed heavily and deflated my chest. Trying to be an upstanding, well-meaning guy was tough when the temptation to just spill everything and brag in peoples' faces was always there. As if teenage life wasn't conflicting enough, I also had a bunch of secrets I wanted to keep to myself.

 

And so, I sat and pondered to myself during the bus ride to school. My lips were almost continuously pursed together in frustration as I stared out the window. I was mostly just annoyed with myself for not letting go of my inhibitions, ripping my t-shirt down the middle and going, 'Hello, ladies.' I was feeling like, well, a bratty teenager. I wanted to tell my self-restraint to take its sense of responsibility and shove it. Though I knew in the back of my mind that keeping all of this to myself would pay off in the end, for the moment it was irritating me.

At the end of our ride, I picked up my backpack. I took a brief moment to really just watch my muscles flex before quickly slinging it over my shoulders and following the other students off. I headed into the front gates and almost immediately, I spotted Eve sitting on the same bench where we had talked a couple days prior. I smiled and headed over to her as she seemed engaged in the paperback book she was reading.

 

"Hey there," I said, causing her to quickly look up at me. She beamed a smile at me, closing her book and setting it aside.

"Hey!" she happily replied. I leaned in toward her, sharing a quick one-armed hug with her as she gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"How are you feeling?" I asked as I stood up.

"Better," she replied with a nod. She then patted the bench. "Come, sit with me for a bit."

"Oh, well, I don't know~," I playfully said. "I've got a lot of stuff to do and people to see..."

"Come on~," she innocently whined as she tugged at my arm with both hands, "just for a minute?"

"Okay," I replied as I quickly sat down. We grinned happily at each other for a brief moment as I looked into her eyes. Things felt so different, yet so pleasant, between us now that the two of us had become lovers. There was a warm bond there between the two of us that allowed us to be comfortable and casual with each other.

 

"So, how's your morning going?" she asked as she gently pushed the straps of my backpack aside and began slowly rubbing up and down my shoulders.

"Much better now that I got to see you," I replied.

"You're so sweet," she said with a soft giggle. She then looked down at my chest for a moment with a happy smile before looking up at me again. "I really wanted to personally thank you for everything you did for me yesterday. You took my mind off of my troubles and made me feel **so** much better."

I nodded to her. "You didn't deserve to be sad like that. It was really killing me to see you like that. ...I care about you, Eve."

"I care about you too, Anthony," she softly replied with an unfaltering smile. She then leaned in toward me and we shared a brief kiss before she gently pulled away. She happily sighed as she let her hands fall away from me.

 

"Well, I don't want to hold you up any longer," she said. "I'll see you later today, okay?"

"Bye for now," I replied, readjusting my backpack before getting to my feet. She smiled to me as I flashed her a happy grin and took my leave. I breathed happily. Spending even just a short time together with Eve was more than enough to make my morning.

I made haste getting into the cafeteria so I could acquisition my breakfast. Then, as was the norm for me by then, I took a seat that was far away from prying eyes before stopping time with a mere blink of my eyes. As I ate, I had to give pause to the fact that I was able to look upon stopping time itself as 'normal.' I shook my head and scoffed in amusement, looking out at the motionless students with a mouthful of cereal.

But then, I suddenly heard the same eerie whispering that I had heard before. I quickly snapped my head toward the source, slowly swallowing my food as I remained motionless myself. In the dead silence of the time-frozen world, any noise was audible. The fact that I was hearing _something_ meant I wasn't alone... and that was a thought that worried me.

How could that be? Was I not stopping time for everyone? Perhaps it was some sort of strange audial side-effect of time stop. From where I heard the whispers, there was no one and nothing around. It couldn't have just been a fluke since I had heard it before. Whatever it was, it seemed to be gone. I was still a bit uneasy about it, but... maybe it really _was_ just an odd fluke.

 

By the time I was finished with my food, I'd forgotten all about the creepy whispering. I resumed time and then got up from my seat, disposing of my tray in the nearest garbage bin and headed outside.

I felt almost lucky when I noticed Frank, Josh and Brandon all sitting with Nora and not using me for some weird experiment. I stopped for a moment to think about what I was going to say to Nora. I had no idea how upset she was after yesterday and so I thought there had to be something I could do for her.

I closed my eyes and thought hard about what I could possibly do. My mind focused intensely upon figuring out that one simple goal, when suddenly I felt something thin and light drop into my hand.

I shot my eyes open and stifled a shocked gasp as my fingers clasped around the object: a rose. It was a perfectly red, dethorned rose with a few leaves sprouting from the stem.

Oh, _crap_. I had just made something appear out of thin air again.

Without moving my head, my eyes cautiously scanned the area to make sure nobody had just seen that transpire. The fact that nobody was even looking at me was a good indicator. I sighed and proudly lifted my head again. I tightly held my offering of good spirits to Nora as I marched over to the group.

 

Nora was the first one to notice me. "Hey, Anthony!" she called out as she waved to me, causing the others to look over and greet me the same.

"Hey guys," I said as I stood before them.

"Nice rose," Frank remarked. "Who's it for? Your favorite teacher or something?" The other boys snickered.

"He has a secret girlfriend," Josh said. "I'm _telling_ you."

"Actually," I replied as I held the rose out to Nora, "it's for you."

Nora took it and stared at it in disbelief for a couple moments. She then gazed up at me, her jaw hanging agape.

 

"Wha– seriously?" she sputtered.

"Yeah, seriously," I replied with a big grin. "I just wanted to give you something to help you feel better after what happened yesterday."

"Wow," she softly remarked as she gently took it and stared at it intensely. "This is... so thoughtful of you, Anthony! It's really a **beautiful** rose! It's so perfect and–" she gave it a quick whiff, "it smells _so_ nice. Where did you get it from?"

"Oh, well, you know," I placed a hand in my pocket and shrugged with the other arm. "It just sort of... appeared out of nowhere and fell right into my hand."

"Ah," she remarked with a soft giggle, "one of **those** kinds of flowers."

"How are you going to carry it around all day?" Frank asked her.

"Um...," she thought for a moment. "Well, my first period teacher has a small vase. I could give it to her to hold onto and get it back after school." She then grinned from ear to ear as she looked up at me again. "But, really, thank you again, Anthony. It's nice to know you were thinking of me."

 

Nora leapt up and eagerly hugged me, placing a kiss on the cheek. I then held her for a moment as we slowly swayed from side to side. I think the others really wanted to make a kissing joke, but considering what happened after the last time Nora and I kissed they decided against it. Just a moment later, the bell rang. The others calmly got to their feet while Nora and I let go of each other.

"Thanks again," she quietly said before she and the others began to walk away.

"See you at lunch!" Frank called out to me.

"See ya!" I called back before sighing happily. I felt incredibly proud and accomplished as I gazed at Nora for a moment before heading off to first period myself.

 

First period felt like a breeze. I didn't know if it was the good mood I was in or if I just found the work easy, but I was done with our assignment with plenty of time to spare. By that point, the teacher was less surprised and more pleased by my work output. I'm sure he was ready to give me a gold star sticker any day now.

During second period, our Algebra teacher didn't feel like going easy on us just because it was Friday. So, class was more of the same. I did get to talk to Tamara again, who was in her usual sweet and bubbly mood. It certainly made enduring an otherwise boring second period so much more fun. Did I mention that she had an incredibly pretty smile? I swear bits of me turned to goo every time she flashed those pearly whites at me.

After class ended, I got to say my friendly 'goodbye' to Tamara and then departed from class. Once I entered the hall, I quickly pressed my backpack-covered back against the wall separating my first and second period classes. I patiently waited for Elizabeta to exit the classroom, which she did quickly enough that she didn't notice me. I smirked as she stood around searching for me. I then came up to her from her side, giving her a playful little push.

She immediately turned to me with an amused grin.

"You shouldn't push a girl like that," she remarked.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I feigned an apology as I lifted up the sleeve of her t-shirt. "Let me look. Is it bleeding?"

"Funny, papi," she replied, swatting my hand away. We then smirked at each other as we began to talk to third period together.

 

"You know," she said, "if people keep seeing the two of us together like this, they gonna think we're a couple or somethin'."

"Is that a bad thing?" I asked, my eyebrows raised with a playful smile.

"The _worst_ thing," she spat. I then groaned and cluched my head, pretending to have a heart attack. She laughed in amusement. "I'm just playin' with you."

"I notice you seem to do that a lot."

She smirked as she leaned in toward me, "You would notice if you _knew_ me..." she remarked in a sultry tone. I grinned happily as we entered the stairwell together.

"Maybe you and I should get to... 'know' each other better?" I suggestively asked.

"Maybe I'll give you a shot, papi," she said. "Someday. Not today. Maybe when you're a little taller."

"I think you'd find there's more to me than just how tall I am," I replied.

She quickly corrected me. "Uhh, you mean how _short_ you are."

"Hey, I'm taller than **you** , aren't I?" I asked as I held the second floor door open for her, grinning in her face as she walked by.

"Fine, I'll give you that," she replied, sticking her tongue at me.

 

As we reached our classroom, I let her go ahead of me. She eagerly darted inside to go take her seat next to her friend. I smirked and shook my head in amusement. I then approached Talia, who looked up at me with a big smile.

"Hey Talia," I greeted her, mirroring her smile, "how's it going?"

"Great," she replied with a warm tone. I gently touched her shoulder, prompting her to smile even wider as she placed a hand over my own.

"You definitely look great," I said, drawing a soft giggle from her before I headed farther into the room to go take my seat.

Just a moment later, Eve and Lila walked into class together.

"Hi," Eve whispered to me from afar as she cutely waved to me. I waved back just the same before she took her seat. Lila stopped in front of me, causing me to look up at her. She had a strangely curious look on her face that I only saw for a split second before she quickly turned away and took her seat. I stared at the back of her head in confusion for a moment, wondering what that look was for.

 

Class was simple and relaxing, which I certainly appreciated. We were given a few pages to read from our textbooks and to copy down text with bullet points. It was so laid-back that I was tempted to put my feet up on my table. I then thought I could get bonus points for putting my feet up on _Jennifer's_ table. The thought of Jennifer berating me amused me, but I ultimately decided to hold myself back.

A few minutes later, I noticed the sound of paper tearing. The last time I heard that, Eve was preparing a note for me. But when I looked over at her, she was still in the middle of doing her work. That's when I noticed Lila bringing her arm back over her shoulder, folded paper in hand. I stared at it for a moment which is when she impatiently dropped it on my table and went back to her work. I thought it was very strange that Lila would be sending me notes, but I was extremely curious and unfurled it.

I was shocked by what the note said.

" _Please freeze time._ "  



	8. Lila

I was frozen in shock, staring at those three little words like I was about to burn a hole through the paper. How could she have just _known_ about it? It was impossible! My head started to race with all sorts of questions. How many other people knew? Was it going around? What if the entire school knew already? I swallowed nervously, feeling my heart pounding from the sheer sense of the unknown.  
  
I slowly looked up at the long, wavy sable hair on the back of Lila's head. She seemed to be back to focused on her work. Barring how she actually knew, what was the reason she wanted me to freeze time anyway? Maybe it was something as harmless as simply wanting to talk. I wondered if she was looking for some kind of blackmail to hold over me. Well, I could only hope not.  
  
I took a deep breath and sighed heavily as I prepared to get to the bottom of this mystery. I was going to take the bull by the horns and find out just what it was she was after.  
  
And so, I blinked my eyes and everything fell silent and motionless around the two of us. She didn't even seem to notice, as class was damn near silent and motionless on a daily basis anyway. I let the paper fall to the table and quietly sighed.  
  
"Okay," I spoke up, immediately grabbing her attention as she perked her head up, "I did it." She kept completely still at first.  
  
"That's... that's it?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly. "You don't have to say... 'alakazam' or something?"  
  
"That'd be true if I was a magician," I replied with a slight smirk, "...which I am not."  
  
She gasped as she looked around the room. Her eyes went wide, placing both hands over her mouth in disbelief. Her breathing started to quicken.  
  
"Oh, my god..." she breathed, turning her chair around just enough to look at me, her dark eyes full of wonder and shock. She took another long look around the classroom, her jaw hanging in awe at the sight. The frozen glow of the ceiling lights illuminated the golden undertone of her fair skin.  
  
  
She then turned her attention back to me as her hands fell away from her hanging jaw.  
  
"I-I... I thought Eve was seriously screwing with me, but this... this is **real!** "  
  
 _My_ jaw then dropped, incredulous at what she just said. "Wait a minute— _Eve_ told you about this?"  
  
She glanced away from me with guilt in her eyes as she bit her lip. "Don't... please don't be mad at her," she insistently said. "She... it was an accident. I could tell she didn't _mean_ to say it, it just kind of... came out."  
  
I sighed heavily, rubbing my forehead. "How many other people know about this?"  
  
"None!" she quickly exclaimed. I narrowed my eyes at her, skeptical of her reply. "Seriously, seriously. Nobody else knows about it, swear on my life. Eve isn't going to tell anyone else and neither will I. You know, it's just that we're B.F.F.'s so we always tell each other everything... even when we don't mean to."  
  
  
I stared into her eyes for a moment before deciding that she was being honest. I sighed and nodded my head, accepting her response. Still, even if they did told anyone else–accident or not–who would believe it? It's a long shot, to say the least, to convince someone that some guy at school can just 'freeze time.' On top of that, I could easily deny it. I mean, the only way anyone would believe it is if I purposely did it anyway.  
  
I calmly got up from my chair and rested my butt against the side of the table with my arms folded across my chest. I took a glance around the room myself before looking back at her.  
  
"So," I said, "why did you want me to stop time anyway?"  
  
She bit her lip as her gaze dropped to the floor. Her eyes began shifting back and forth, pretty clearly trying to formulate an answer.  
  
"Well...," she slowly replied, "I, uh, I-I-I wanted to... see this... for myself." She looked up at me with a nod. Her expression was just painted with worry. I furred my brow and cocked my head slightly to the side—she was definitely hiding something.  
  
  
"And...," I started, "what's the _actual_ reason you wanted me to do this?"  
  
She gazed down at her hands as they nervously raked over her thighs continuously. She chuckled nervously.  
  
"That _was_ the reason...?" she replied before looking up at me as though asking me if that was the correct answer.  
  
I smirked and shook my head. "You're not very good at lying."  
  
"Well—uh...," she trailed off, biting her lip as she idly fidgeted with her knees.  
  
"You can tell me any day now," I said. "Or I could just make time go back to normal and—"  
  
"Okay, okay!" she quickly exclaimed, throwing her hands out to get me to stop. "Just... give me a minute."  
  
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she exhaled, she slowly got to her feet and looked at me with a nervous smile.  
  
"Do you... uh..., you wanna just kind of..." she trailed off again, causing me to look at her strangely.  
  
"You can do it," I jokingly persuaded her with an amused grin upon my face.  
  
She then quickly blurted out, "I want you to have sex with me."  
  
Well, _that_ got my attention.  
  
  
Now **I** was the one sputtering my words. "Wha– seriously?"  
  
She then walked up to me, placing her hands on my shoulders. I planted my hands on the edge of the table and straightened my back. Her fair-colored hands were shaky, and cold as ice.  
  
Her voice was a mix of sultriness and nervousness as she whispered, "Yeah... _seriously_."  
  
"Wow," I replied in surprise. She smiled and chuckled softly, her lips visibly trembling a bit as she leaned in toward my own. I breathed softly onto her lips, which she unconsciously inhaled before meekly pressing her lips against my own. I gently kissed her back, hearing her sigh quietly in content as I danced around her shaky lips. Our lips gently parted and melded together a few times. However, I brought an abrupt end to it when I pulled away from her.  
  
"I can't," I whispered.  
  
The remark surprised not only her, but myself as well. I was **actually** going to pass on sex.  
  
"What...?" she uttered in disbelief. "Well... why?"  
  
"You're a nervous wreck right now," I replied. "You're shaking so much I'm surprised you haven't fallen apart." She appeared saddened by the remark, her eyes lowering to my chest. "I just... don't think you're really ready to do this."  
  
  
She sighed loudly, her hands falling away from me.  
  
"I'm sorry," she quietly remarked before turning away and throwing her hands into the air in frustration. "God, I'm **such** an idiot!"  
  
I watched her sit back down on her chair and drop her head into her arm on the table in embarrassment.  
  
"It's okay," I reassured her while staying in place.  
  
"Just forget it," she replied, idly waving a hand to me. "Make time... go forward again or whatever and let's just get back to class."  
  
I couldn't help feeling badly for how down she was about this. But it just didn't feel right going all the way with her with how uncertain and nervous she was. I didn't want to feel like I was taking advantage of her.  
  
  
And so, I gave an understanding sigh and headed back to my own seat. The very second that I sat down, Lila suddenly sprung to life.  
  
" **Wait!** " she exclaimed before slapping a hand over her own mouth. I froze up in surprise, watching her slowly look around the room. She took her hand off her mouth and looked at me. "You haven't... turned it back 'on' yet?"  
  
"No...?" I cautiously replied. "Why?"  
  
She then turned her gaze to the ground with an intense look in her eyes. She nodded and slowly got to her feet once again. I carefully watched Lila calmly saunter up to me, her fingertips gliding over the table. My attention was focused completely on her as she held onto my shoulder for balance and swung a leg over my lap. She took a seat, straddling me with her slender body whilst staring deeply into my eyes.  
  
"What are you doing?" I quietly asked. Lila gently rubbed my shoulders, shifting her body a little closer to me.  
  
"I'm sorry," she whispered before taking a quick breath of air. I rested my hands on her hips as she continued. "I didn't mean to come off as really nervous like that. It's just that... this is all **really** intimidating," she remarked as she looked around the room once again. She then looked at me and added, "Not to mention how cool you seem about it."  
  
"Well, I'm used to it by now," I said with a slight smile. She smiled back.  
  
"I'm surprised anyone can be 'used' to something like this..." she remarked in amazement.  
  
  
"But why do you want to do this?" I curiously asked. "I always thought you hated me."  
  
"No," she replied with a slight shake of her head, "I never _hated_ you. I just... didn't want to be around you. The way you acted wasn't very... enjoyable."  
  
I chuckled softly. "I understand—believe me."  
  
"But it's okay," she said with an eager grin, "Eve told me about how you–" Her grin quickly faded and put a hand over her mouth again. It wasn't hard for me to figure out where she was going.  
  
"... She told you we had sex."  
  
She gave me a guilty smile and nodded. "Yeah...," she replied. "She told me that... that you were **amazing.** I just really wanted to find out for myself." I had to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the compliment. "I _am_ a little scared, but... I was hoping you could guide me though it?"  
  
I nodded in agreement to her. She smiled more warmly at me while her hands slowly came up to my face. She began to tenderly explore the features of my face with her fingertips. I closed my eyes and softly sighed, giving in to her gentle touch—Her hands didn't feel nearly as cold as they did before. I heard her giggle quietly as she shifted her body even closer to me.  
  
  
She began to glide the entirety of her soft hands across the sensitive skin of my face.  
  
"Anthony...," she breathed, sending a quick shiver of excitement down my spine. "You're so handsome..."  
  
I peered an eye open for just a moment. Her head was curiously tilted to the side, studiously looking me over. I then closed my eyes and continued to soak up the sweet sensation of her touch that coursed through my entire body.  
  
Lila was **very** affectionate – far more so than I could've ever imagined. She certainly liked to use her hands. Her warm scent was calming. I was completely drawn into her intimacy. Her soft, delicate hands gently caressing my face was soothing and relaxing. She had put me totally at ease while she seemed so tirelessly eager to pleasure me. There really wasn't anything quite like a woman's touch.  
  
She then leaned her head in, gently placing a kiss on my forehead. She made a slow-moving trail of kisses down my temple, to my cheek, and then just outside my lips where she stopped briefly. She breathed onto my lips, just as I had done before. It caused me to unconsciously open my mouth in response. Then, she gently clasped her lips over mine.  
  
We started out slow and tempered as we kissed while she continued to intimately caress my face all throughout. My hands slowly moved up her back, slipping under her shirt. I began to softly stroke her back with my fingertips and nails. She sighed happily in response. She slowly pulled away from the kiss, curiously rubbing her lips together as though trying to savor the taste of my kiss.  
  
Our slow kiss continued on intermittently, taking each pause to gaze into each others' eyes. I was entranced with the level of warmth and joy I was feeling from being in her company. My hands then brushed over the back strap of her bra. Without hesitation, I undid the clasp. She abruptly broke away from one of our many kisses and gasped softly in surprise. She then slowly fell back into her state of serenity as I continued to gently stroke the entire length of her back.  
  
"That feels nice," she whispered, flashing me a weakened, adorable grin. I smiled back to her before she leaned in and we shared more of our slow, intimate kiss. Her body quivered in anticipation all the while. She was practically bubbling over with nervousness and excitement. She resumed caressing my face, slowly drawing her hands down my cheeks again and again.  
  
  
The two of us continued sharing our affection in the form of our touch and our kiss for a few moments. I then took my hands out of her shirt and brought them to her front. I reached for the collar of her pink blouse, slowly beginning to unbutton it.  
  
Lila exhaled softly in response, pulling away a bit and allowed me to undress her. She gazed curiously into my eyes, her breathing becoming more audible.  
  
"Am I going too fast for you?" I softly asked.  
  
"Not at all," she shakily whispered. "Like I said, I want you to guide me..."  
  
I undid the last button at the bottom of her garment and then gently pulled it down her arms. At the same time, her bra fell from her body, exposing her bare upper body in one fell swoop. The two pieces of clothing fell to the ground and I got my first look at her half-nude.  
  
  
I placed my hands on her hips once more. Her breasts were small, yet cute—Her body wasn't quite as matured as her friend Eve's. She was becoming visibly more anxious and nervous. She held both hands to the back of my head, almost as though she were expecting me to gobble her breasts up at any moment.  
  
"My boobs aren't really that big, huh?" she asked, seeming to know exactly what I was thinking.  
  
"That's okay," I reassured her with a smile. "You're **very** beautiful, Lila." I reached up and let my fingertips glide down her jaw as I added, "So beautiful..."  
  
"Thank you," she softly replied as my hands fell back to her hips. "For saying that, I mean."  
  
"No need to thank me. I'm just being honest."  
  
  
Lila giggled softly, a bit less apprehensive. She calmly leaned in and gave me a gentle kiss on the nose as thanks for the compliment. She pulled away with an enthused smile. She was so much sweeter and inviting than I'd ever seen her. I loved seeing this side of her.  
  
It was then _my_ turn to lean in toward _her_. I held my hands to her lower back as I pressed slow kisses along her jaw line, listening to her softly gasp and sigh.  
  
"Ooh...," she whispered in pleasure. I smiled as I then moved down to her neck, purring softly, drawing a few more excited gasps out of her.  
  
"No one's ever kissed me like this...," she softly remarked. She let an arm drape behind my neck, keeping the other hand firmly on the back of my head and pulling me toward her body.  
  
I kissed down, just above her collarbone and then slowly drew my hot tongue up along the length of her throat.  
  
"Ohh... Anthony...," Lila moaned. The corners of my mouth curled into a smile—it seemed like everything I was doing turned her on. She continued to moan in pleasure, allowing me to feel her voice against my tongue while I drew it up and down along her throat over and over again.  
  
  
I wrapped my arms around her back, holding her closer to me. I then kissed my way down to chest, hearing her gasp sharply. She quickly looked down and watched me carefully and curiously as I laved my tongue all around the soft flesh of her small breasts. She squealed softly when I sucked not just her hard, dark red nipple into my mouth, but the entirety of her breast with it.  
  
Her head was craned in toward my own as she panted and moaned in excitement. I sucked hard on her breast while flicking at her round, nubby nipple with my tongue.  
  
"Oohh, wow... That feels so good, Anthony...," she whispered.  
  
She held the back of my head firmly, using her other hand to gently stroke my cheek. Her eyelids hung heavy with lust as she watched me. The hot breaths of her panting and moaning combed through my hair. She then gasped in excitement as I gently raked my teeth against her areola and nipple.  
  
"Oh, Anthony... oh, yes...," she whispered before placing a gentle kiss on the top of my head.  
  
I then moved over to her other nipple and began sucking hard on it as well. She closed her eyes, moaning and panting in intensifying lust. At the same time, she slowly began grinding her crotch against my own. It became painfully obvious to me that she was ready to move forward—as was I.  
  
  
I abruptly stopped sucking upon her breast and let it pop loudly out of my mouth. She sighed deeply as I drew my head back to look up at her. She latched her arms around the back of my neck, gazing curiously into my eyes as if to ask what came next.  
  
I slipped an arm under Lila's butt and pushed the chair back. She held me tighter as I rose to my feet with her, carrying her over to the side of the table where I sat her down. I leaned in to kissed her gently and became the one to dictate the pace of our kiss. She mewled softly, our kiss gradually deepening a bit more now that I was the one in control.  
  
I then peeled my lips away from hers. Her arms fell away as I stood up straight, her eyes curiously watching me as I took my shirt off and casually tossed it aside. She gasped softly at the sight of my shirtless body.  
  
"Wow," she breathed as she began to slowly rub my chest and shoulders. "I had no idea you looked so good with your shirt off..."  
  
"I can say the same about you," I slyly replied. It went right over her head as she simply gazed, wide-eyed, in awe at my body.  
  
"You really **are** handsome..." Lila remarked, slowly trailing her hands up and down my chest in sheer infatuation. She went down to my abdomen before coming back up to my arms, focusing her attention on my biceps.  
  
  
She then asked, "I wonder if the bottom half of you looks just as good...?" She looked up at me and smiled playfully. I smiled back at her.  
  
"I'm more than happy to show you," I replied. She then watched in captivation again as I undid my jeans and pulled them down along with my boxers. What followed was the sound of her breath being taken away.  
  
"Oh, my god...," she remarked, gazing upon the sight of my erect member. She then slowly took it into her soft hands. I sighed quietly, stepping out of my clothing and kicking it aside. She stared at my shaft, infatuated, studying it carefully as her hands endlessly explored every inch of it.  
  
I sighed, a lustful gaze in my eyes as I looked down at her. She seemed completely mesmerized by the sight of my penis, unable to look away from it for even a second.  
  
"So amazing...," she softly spoke. "I've never felt one before..."  
  
Her remark processed in my head for a brief moment before my eyes widened in surprise.  
  
"Wait," I said, grabbing her attention. "Are you saying you're a...?"  
  
"Yeah," she looked up at me and replied with a slight grin. "I am."  
  
I was flabbergasted. It wasn't long ago that I was a virgin myself. But to actually be the one to be someone _else's_ first? The very thought blew my mind.  
  
"And... you're **sure** you want to do this?"  
  
"Yeah," she reiterated, "I **am**."  
  
  
I nodded in understanding before she turned her attention back to my male organ. After all, I knew too well how intense the burn of sexual desire was for a first-timer.  
  
That couldn't be more true when I noticed she began breathing much heavier as she continued to play with my cock. She sighed in elation, her body starting to tremble and swallowed heavily.  
  
"Ohh, wow...," she breathed in awe. "Your cock is so... so beautiful..." She trailed off for a moment, her body inching forward. Her chest began heaving in excitement before she dropped to her feet.  
  
Lila then held my thighs for support as she lowered to her knees. She briefly glanced up at me, as though seeking some kind of permission. When she saw my expression was just as lusty as her own, she quickly turned her attention back to my elongated manhood.  
  
  
She gently cupped both sides of it in her hands and moved her face closer toward it. She closed her eyes, sighing lustfully, reveling in its heat. She slowly placed gentle kisses down one side, moving from the head to the base. I then groaned amorously as she drew her hot, wet tongue along the length of my penis on the way back.  
  
She sighed in lust while slowly nuzzling her soft cheek in a circular motion against the side of my shaft. She then moved to the other side and gave it the same attention, all the while moaning softly in an entranced, lustful daze. A few droplets of my seed dribbled out of me as I sighed and groaned in pleasure.  
  
I watched in awe as she slowly slid her tongue up and down my incredibly sensitive organ. She moaned and breathed her hot panting onto it which only added to the splendor what she was doing. She was completely mesmerized by my shaft, addicted to its heat. I had no idea what to think of her obsession with my manhood, other than how good her interest in it felt.  
  
She continued to groan and pant as she slowly circled her tongue around the head of my penis. She then clasped her soft lips around it. She sucked gently, focusing her attention on just the tip. The tip of her tongue licked it up and down, avidly lapping up my pre-cum.  
  
  
When she pulled her lips away, she turned her attention straight up at me. She got to her feet, wrapping her arms around my neck. Both of us panted in excitement as we hungrily gazed into each others' eyes.  
  
"My body feels so hot...," she whispered. "I feel like I'm on fire..."  
  
"You and me both," I whispered back before she quickly shoved her lips over mine. We moaned onto each others lips as we eagerly kissed. At the same time, I worked to undo her tight pants and then peeled them down to her thighs.  
  
Lila quickly pulled away from our kiss, bending over to remove her pants as well as her panties. She then held the side of the table for support as she pushed them down to her ankles. I gently stepped on them to help her step out of them. She then carelessly pushed my books and pen off the table, letting them clatter onto my chair and floor. She lowered her body onto the table, planting her open palms down beside her head.  
  
From that position, she knew she didn't need to do anything further. She kicked her clothes aside and eagerly waved her butt from side to side in anticipation.  
  
The slow start we'd initially had seemed to give way to an almost breakneck pace.  
  
  
I knelt down and stared hungrily at Lila's perfect, swollen lips and protruding clitoris stuffed between her thighs. It thrilled me to no end to know I was the first guy to ever gaze upon her sex. I was eager to claim it for myself and make my mark within her that would stay with her for the rest of her life. It was like making history.  
  
I uttered an unconscious sigh of ecstasy—her scent was so amazingly intoxicating. I slowly and firmly licked the entire length of her slit a few times, feeling her body tense up a bit and listening to her gasp and moan in response.  
  
I then brought a hand up and spread her sex open. What I saw surprised and confused me.  
  
There was a strange, fleshy barrier I'd never seen before. The thing was like a solid little screen with a couple of large holes poked in it. I curiously poked at it with my thumb, remarking at how elastic it was. Was this... her hymen? I felt like I was taking a shot in the dark at such a guess. I had always heard such things were deeper inside.  
  
I quickly shook off the thought—She was already so wet. I couldn't wait any longer, and neither could she. She was trembling even more intensely than before as I stood up behind her. I kept a hand on her hip, the other grasping my manhood and pressed forward to split her folds apart with my head.  
  
  
I slipped through the gap of Lila's stretchy virginity and slowly sunk into her untouched body. I groaned loudly, taken into her incredible, virginal tightness. She let out a sharp moan, bracing her hand near her side upon the table. She panted heavily and whimpered as she took me inside her. Her unmercifully tight muscles contracted wildly around me, adding to the intensity of my penetration. She didn't even seem to notice when her hymen broke suddenly around me.  
  
I came to a stop once I'd buried myself to the root. I had to stop for a moment to let both of us gather our senses and allow her to accommodate to my size.  
  
I then pulled back and slowly pushed into her luxurious, wet heat once again. Her panting became faster and heavier again as I built up an intermittent rhythm, continually stopping briefly each time I was fully inside her. Her head hung down as she brought both hands up in front of her face, balling them into tight fists.  
  
  
She quavered incessantly, starting to let her trembling voice sing as my rhythm became more fluid.  
  
"Oh, god...," she uttered in amazement. "Why does this feel so _good_...?"  
  
I planted my hands on the table beside her, standing on the arcs of my feet. I used gravity to my advantage to keep my downward thrusts deep into the sweet young woman. Her body slowly squirmed all over the table, becoming lost in ecstasy.  
  
Lila was so mind-blowingly tight. Her walls were like sliding into a hot, velvety vice. I was overwhelmed, panting and moaning as I blissfully bucked my hips. I had to slow my pace down for a moment to keep from erupting inside of her. Both of us used it as a small respite to catch our breath a bit. But then, I went right back into my rhythm like I'd never missed a beat.  
  
She moaned and writhed, enraptured, while I uttered deep, sighing groans in our duet of lust. I gazed down upon her thin, slender body for a moment. Her flushed frame and long hair happily rocked and swayed in harmony with my own body. It was infinitely thrilling to be the one to guide her through her first time. She was such an incredible lover already.  
  
I loved every second of being inside her.  
  
  
I slowed down for a brief moment again as I felt myself close to bursting once more. I straightened up my back, placing my hands on her hips. When I sped up again, I began to pound her more aggressively. My deep, impactful thrusts caused my balls to slap against her protruding clit. She responded to the startling pleasure by jerking her head back suddenly and sharply crying out in bliss.  
  
"Oh, yes!!" she exclaimed.  
  
Our hot bodies harmoniously slapped together. Both our voices were dripping with lust throughout our pleasured groans and hot panting. I found it difficult to keep such a pace within such hot, heavenly confines. And so, I alternated between my intense thrusts and slower, deeper ones. The end result kept us both on the edge of climax for an ecstatic while.  
  
It was certainly a rigorous and incredible exercise in learning how to control myself and keep from finishing off for as long as I could.  
  
I enjoyed listening to her honest reactions to the incredible pleasure I was giving her. Her beautiful voice was alternating between low, tempered moans and frantic, heady cries in response to my separate rhythms. Lila seemed completely indifferent between my hot friction and letting her savor the sensation of me exploring her.  
  
  
I looked down at Lila – her head was pulled all the way back. Her eyes were mindlessly rolled into her head, her tongue hanging out of her mouth as she sung her song of entranced lust to me. Her body was so hot and sweaty. The ends of her long hair had become matted to her sweaty back.  
  
I curiously grabbed her soft, black hair and gently pulled back on it like the reigns on a horse. She immediately responded with a long, hot groan; her eyelids fluttering in ecstasy. It seemed again as though everything I did turned her on.  
  
That's when I started to roughly punch my hips into her even harder than before, rocking and slapping her body hard. Her entire body tensed up and trembled incessantly. Her fingertips pressed as hard as they could into the table, her trembling voice belting out intense moans of pleasure.  
  
Every muscle in Lila's lithe body clenched hard, including the already tight ones wrapped around me. I was struggling to hold back with her immaculate, hot walls cinching around me.  
  
" **Ohh, Anthony~!!** " she suddenly cried out at the top of her lungs. She then gasped sharply before letting out a long, loud groan of ecstasy. Her walls contracted wildly as a huge rush of fluids squirted out of her. Her listless eyes stared back at me, yet she wasn't seeing anything. I let go of her hair while her body jolted and bucked wildly.  
  
The sight of her 'O' face as she shook and quaked uncontrollably beneath me was more than enough to push me over the edge. I'd held back for long enough. I quickly pulled out of her and grabbed my cum-soaked rod. I groaned loudly along with her as I spilled the first spurt of my seed onto the edge of the table before aiming it to the ground.  
  
  
Lila was still climaxing by the time I was finished. She shakily moaned, her thin legs wobbling as she released the last of her huge orgasm. I'd never seen so much cum from a girl before, but it was a **lot**. It had visibly puddled between her feet and had rolled far down her legs. I watched her as she continued to writhe and moan in rapture whilst lying weakly on the table.  
  
Once her quaking body had relaxed some, I decided to talk to her.  
  
"Are you okay?" I quietly asked.  
  
"...Y-Yeah," she breathed. "Just give me a m-minute..."  
  
I smiled as I leaned against the table behind me. Both of us took a few moments to rest and catch our breath. She soon lifted herself off of the table with a soft moan. She then straightened her back and turned herself around to face me. She lifted the stalks of hair draped over her face and tossed them behind her head.  
  
Lila stumbled toward me and I quickly hopped off the table to let her practically collapse into my arms. She weakly wrapped her arms around my neck and, with her face buried into my chest, she sighed quietly.  
  
"Ohh, my god," she whispered before gazing up at me. "That was the most amazing thing I've ever felt in my life. I've never cum that hard before..."  
  
I smiled as she looked at me with her dark eyes sparkling with wonder. She continued to sigh softly in elation, her body slowly writhing and shifting as she rode out the residual pleasure still inside her.  
  
"Does it have to be over?" she innocently asked. I chuckled softly in response.  
  
"All good things have to come to an end," I replied with a grin. She whined in protest, letting her head rest against my shoulder.  
  
"I want to feel this way forever..." she softly remarked. "Eve was **so** right about you. You **are** amazing..." The two of us settled in for a long embrace that lasted a good few minutes.  
  
Lila... To go from feeling completely ostracized by her to sharing an embrace with her with no clothes on was astonishing. She gently nuzzled her cheek into my shoulder, holding me a bit tighter. I smiled as I held her tightly back, letting her know that she was wanted.  
  
And so, not only did I take her virginity but I'd also gave her the most incredible orgasm she'd ever had. It was already a _very_ productive day.  
  
  
Soon after, her body finally came to a rest. She eased back and looked at me with a warm smile.  
  
"I'm sorry... for being such a bitch to you," she said. I shook my head in disagreement.  
  
"Don't apologize for that," I replied. "There's no need. I deserved all of it, really." She giggled and grinned at me.  
  
"Maybe you did."  
  
I smiled back at her, brushing her long hair behind her ear. The two of us then shared a brief kiss before we took a moment gazing into each others' eyes.  
  
"Well," I spoke up, "let's get this place all cleaned up." She nodded.  
  
"Sounds good."  
  
I then departed from her company momentarily. I headed for the teacher's desk where I requisitioned a handful of paper towels off of his desk. I only hoped he wouldn't start questioning why they kept disappearing. I made my way back to Lila and placed them on my table, still shimmering with a mix of our sweat. We worked in tandem to clean up both ourselves and the surrounding area.  
  
  
After finishing up, we helped each other collect our clothes and began to dress ourselves. All the while, we just stared adoringly at each other. She had a sweet, little smile on her face.  
  
"You know," she spoke, "I suppose it's not so crazy to get used to this after all." The two of us shared a brief chuckle. " _Especially_ with what you can get _away_ with."  
  
"I like the 'getting away with things' part," I cheekily replied. She quietly laughed and, once we were dressed again, happily walked up to me. Lila placed her hands on my shoulders, leaning in to share a gentle kiss with me. We moaned in content together as our kiss deepened just enough for us to wrap our lips around one another.  
  
  
Our lips soon pulled away with an audible smooch before she grinned happily at me. She reached up with both hands and went right back to gently stroking my face. It felt just as nice as the first time, if not more so after riding high on cloud nine with her.  
  
"I always knew somewhere deep down you were sweet," she softly remarked. "It feels nice to be with you when you're not teasing me or pestering me... you're really warm and comfortable to be around."  
  
"I'm open to _any_ compliments you want to give me." She giggled softly.  
  
"Never in a million years did I think **you** would be my first. But... I'm glad you are. I really don't have any regrets about doing this with you. I just know that probably ten or even twenty years from now I'll look back on this moment... and smile."  
  
"So will I," I replied before we shared one more brief kiss.  
  
"What do we do now?" she curiously asked.  
  
"Well, you and I just have to sit back in our seats so we look how we did before time stopped."  
  
"Seriously?" she asked in surprise. "It's that simple? You don't have to recite some kind of magic incantation or something?"  
  
"Very funny," I remarked, getting an amused grin from her. "Ready?"  
  
"Yeah," she replied with a sigh. "I'm kind of sad to have to go back already, but, I'll get over it."  
  
The two of us let go of one another and I let her take her seat. I had the extra honor of having to pick up my books and pen that she'd knocked aside earlier before I sat down. Both of us picked up our pens and prepared to go back to our work. Once we were properly in place, I started time again.  
  
Lila actually jumped a bit in surprise at the sudden atmosphere of sound flooding her ears. I smiled and focused right back on my work as Eve turned to her in confusion.  
  
"You okay?" Eve quietly asked.  
  
Lila grinned at her and sighed happily. "Yeah," she replied. "I think I'm more than okay."  
  
Lila then reached into her backpack for her hair brush to straighten her hair. I don't think she could've made it anymore obvious to Eve. Eve herself then glanced over at me with a cheeky smirk. She certainly knew.  
  
  
The rest of class went as smoothly as could be expected. Just before lunch time, the other students began to stretch out and converse with one another. Eve finished up her work and then casually dropped her pen on top of her notebook. She and Lila looked at each other almost in sync, staring for just a moment before they shared a laugh. Eve then smiled as she looked back at me. I waved cutely to her, just as she had done yesterday.  
  
I then felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Jennifer looking over at Eve, then back at me.  
  
"You did it with her, didn't you?" she quietly asked me with a cocky grin.  
  
"Why?" I replied as I rested my elbow on her table, and put my head in my hand. I stared at her with a sensual gaze and lowered my voice to match my expression. "Are you jealous?"  
  
"No," she remarked, mocking me by imitating my posture. "I was just asking, _asshole_." The two of us faced off mere inches away from each other.  
  
I chuckled and grinned. "You have such a huge crush on me, huh?"  
  
"In your dreams...," she quietly said.  
  
"You're _always_ in my dreams, Jennifer," I remarked with a cocky smirk. "All - night - long..." She frowned to try to off-set the amused grin she had on her face.  
  
"God, I want to rip that smirk right off your face," she spoke.  
  
  
Our ears were then flooded with the bell for lunch. Most of the other students started to chat as I got up from my seat along with them.  
  
"See you later," I said to Jennifer with a smirk.  
  
"Burn in hell~," she pleasantly replied with a gentle wave. I quietly laughed, slipping behind my table partner's chair and then headed over to Eve.  
  
"Hey," I greeted her as she unhooked her lunch bag. She looked up at me with a smile. I then looked over at Lila who also smiled at me as she held her lunch bag behind her back and casually strolled away.  
  
"So...," I continued, "I'm guessing you know."  
  
"Yeah," she replied, pushing out her chair and getting to her feet. "Sorry about letting it slip. I didn't really _mean_ to tell Lila, but... what can I say? It was exciting." The two of us grinned and chuckled. "When I did tell her, at first she thought I was joking. Then, she had this look on her face like... she just **had** to know. She had to find out what it was like - all of it."  
  
I looked over and saw Lila anxiously swaying back at forth. She was watching Eve intensely.  
  
"And it looks like she can't wait to talk to you about it," I remarked. Eve looked over at her friend and snickered. She smiled at me before giving me a gentle hug with one arm.  
  
"See you later," she whispered and placed a kiss on my cheek before she slowly turned away and walked out of class. I sighed happily, always feeling great about being in her company. I admired her from the back for a moment before I noticed Jennifer looking at me. She then pointed at Eve before sticking the same finger through a ring she made on the other hand in a 'fucking' motion. I shook my head and waved for her to go away, trying not to laugh at that.  
  
  
As I began to depart from class myself, I noticed Talia still hadn't left yet. So, I decided to pay her a visit.  
  
"Hey, there," I greeted her as she worked to unhook her own, fancy, reusable lunch bag.  
  
"Hey!" she happily exclaimed with a huge grin. "You have lunch in the cafeteria, right?"  
  
"Why, yes, I do," I replied with a posh accent. She giggled in response.  
  
"Would you like to walk me there?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.  
  
"Absolutely," I said with a grin.  
  
She quickly sprung to her feet and merrily walked with me out of the classroom. Fortunately, the hallway wasn't too terribly crowded. As we made it out, she pleasantly surprised me when she took my hand in her own. I curiously looked over at her.  
  
"What's that for?" I asked. She giggled softly.  
  
"It's for how awesome I think you are," she warmly replied as she looked at me with a gorgeous smile.  
  
God, she was so sweet. That was one heck of a great feeling.  
  
  
We headed down the stairs, hand in hand, and made our way out the door. Once outside, her hand slid further up my arm before wrapping her other arm around mine. I watched her grinning happily as she placed her head on my shoulder. She sighed happily, reaffirming her grip around my arm as we on kept moving. I was so elated to experience how wonderful she was, and she somehow knew exactly how to make me feel just the same.  
  
It was a brief, yet delightful walk to our destination. I opened the door to the cafeteria and allowed her to go ahead of me. She let go of my arm and turned to me with a happy sigh.  
  
"Well," she spoke up as the door closed behind us, "looks like we're here. Thanks for that really nice walk."  
  
"It was nice," I replied with a smile. She giggled again.  
  
"I'll see you later, Anthony."  
  
"Looking forward to it, Talia."  
  
She reached out to me and let her hand slide down my arm. Then, she headed off to go see her friends. I happily gazed upon her for a moment before walking off to go get my own lunch.  
  
  
My friends seemed to be eagerly awaiting my arrival as I approached them.  
  
"Hey, man!" Brandon greeted me.  
  
"Hey," I replied to him as I took a seat. Nora blushed slightly and smiled at me as I looked at her. At the same time, Frank had a rather suspicious look on his face while keeping his eyes on me.  
  
"So," Josh spoke up with a mouthful of food. "Saw you walk in with a new girl. How many girlfriends _do_ you have?"  
  
I snickered and rolled my eyes before taking a bite of my sandwich.  
  
"We were actually going to talk about the fight yesterday," Josh said.  
  
"Yeah," Brandon chimed in. "You handled yourself damn well! Nora agrees with us on that." Nora sighed quietly, closing her eyes as she nodded.  
  
"I... will admit that," she said. "I was really scared you were going to get hurt, but I had no idea you were so good at defending yourself!"  
  
"The boy was like a bullet with those moves!" Brandon joked, holding his hands out in a karate pose while the others laughed. However, not even a chuckle spilled from Frank's lips. Instead, he folded his arms across his chest and sighed in annoyance.  
  
  
Nora curiously looked at me as she remarked, "I'm surprised your bruise from yesterday healed up so quickly."  
  
"It has?" I wondered, holding my previously injured cheek.  
  
"Yeah," she said as she dug through her lunch bag. She pulled out a pocket mirror and flipped it open before pointing it toward me. "Check it out."  
  
"Wow," I uttered in surprised as I slowly rubbed my cheek, "it really did heal up."  
  
"Nice," Brandon said. "You're like Wolverine with that healing factor. I bet you got an adamantium skeleton in there somewhere, too, huh?"  
  
"Sure do," I turn to him with a grin. " **And** claws that come out of my hands," I added as I held my fingers out like claws. Brandon jokingly leaned back, protecting his face from me. The others laughed while Frank just shook his head. As I looked over at him, I couldn't help getting the obvious feeling that Frank was annoyed with me. I had no idea what I could've done to him.  
  
  
Once we finished our lunch, we got up and all said our 'goodbye's—all of us besides Frank. Nobody else seemed terribly worried about Frank's demeanor so I figured I shouldn't be either. I threw my tray away in the trash and waved to them. We then went our separate ways... or so I thought.  
  
After I got outside, I casually placed my hands in my pockets. I decided to go and pay a quick visit to Eve and Lila before class resumed. But as I got around the corner, a hand quickly grabbed my shoulders, pushing me against the wall.  
  
To my surprise, it was Frank. My jaw hung agape as I looked at him in sheer confusion, wondering what was going on.  
  
"You and I _need_ to talk," he sternly said, "one-on-one, man-to-man, right now."


	9. Ambush

I stared a Frank for a moment before I spoke up.  
  
"Whoa. ... What's going on?"  
  
He took a hard look at me and sighed heavily. He then loosened up a bit and backed off.  
  
"Sorry about that," he remorsefully replied. "Maybe I came off a little strong there."  
  
" _Maybe_ ," I concurred with a confused chuckle. "I noticed you weren't acting very normal during lunch. Any reason why?"  
  
"Yeah," he replied while I straightened my shirt. "It's just that... you and this whole 'change' thing is starting to bug me, man. I think it's great but I can't shake the feeling that there's something more to this. It feels like you're... _hiding_ something. You know that I know you. Something's up and I want to know what it is."  
  
Frank was one of my most trusted friends—He indeed knew me better than anyone. I figured if there was anyone I could entrust my secret to, it was surely him. There was no way he was going to take 'no' for an answer anyway. I took a deep breath and nodded.  
  
"... All right," I sighed, "I'll tell you what it is. But you gotta promise not to tell anyone else - not Nora, not Josh or Brandon... _nobody_. Okay?"  
  
He was a bit surprised by the request, but nodded in agreement.  
  
"Got it. So what is it? I really have to know."  
  
Then, an impish smirk spread across my lips.  
  
  
"First...," I trailed off before I blinked my eyes. Everything went silent and immobile around me, including Frank. I calmly circled behind him, blinked my eyes with focus solely on him, and continued on, "...you have to look behind you."  
  
" **Whoa!** " he shouted in shock as he realized I disappeared behind him. He quickly spun around, his eyes bugged out. His astonishment caused him not to yet realize everything and everyone one else was frozen around us.  
  
"How... what did you...?" he uttered.  
  
"Then," I continued as I calmly looked from side to side. "take a look around."  
  
He mimicked the motions of my head in confusion. Very quickly, it sunk in for him that nobody was moving and everything was quiet. Instead of shouting in response, he slowly walked up to an immobile student.  
  
"Holy... crap..." he uttered in a mix of amazement and trepidation. "What–when did–how...?"  
  
"You okay?" I asked with a chuckle.  
  
"I think so!" he exclaimed with a hand upon his head as his mind tried to process his surroundings. "What is this?!"  
  
I tried not to laugh. It was pretty amusing to me by then just to see peoples' reactions, after becoming so used to it myself.  
  
  
"Well, I... can freeze time," I casually replied.  
  
"Freeze _time?!_ " he shouted. "Yeah, **that's** normal! No way, this is a prank... right?"  
  
I smiled as I folded my arms over my chest. "Does it look like one?"  
  
He sighed heavily and took a seat next to an inanimate student. He placed his hands on his knees while trying to steady his nerves for a moment. I had no idea what he was thinking, but, he _did_ ask what I've been hiding. Granted, I know he could've never imagined it would be _stopping time_.  
  
He was sweating a bit as he then looked up at me with a smirk.  
  
"Wow, man," he remarked. "I can easily understand it all now. Wow. ... If **I** had this power, I'd be pretty damn confident, too."  
  
I laughed as he calmly got to his feet. He walked up to me and extended a hand to me. I took his into my own and we shared a handshake.  
  
"This is something, man," he said as he took a good look around. "How did you even manage to **do** this? You finally mastered the power of those anime we watch and the video games you play?"  
  
I chuckled again and shrugged with a toothy grin. "I'm really not sure how it happened. It just... happened."  
  
  
He shook his head in disbelief, starting to walk around and take in more of the surreal scene. I watched him curiously inspecting and touching everything.  
  
"So," I spoke up, "you're not going to tell anyone about this, right?"  
  
"Nah," he replied before heading back over to me. "I was looking to blackmail you a little bit into telling me how **I** can do this." The two of us shared a laugh. "But, I believe you when you say you don't know how this happened." He took a deep breath and sighed. "'This.' Wow. Can't believe you and I are talking about **stopping time** like it's totally normal!"  
  
I laughed again as he playfully grabbed the collar of my shirt and gently shook me a bit before letting go.  
  
"It's crazy," I said. "I just feel... I dunno, _normal_ about all this. It's like as natural to me as breathing now."  
  
"Damn," he replied, gazing around one more time. "That _is_ crazy. You're like a mutant or something, I'm sure of it." I laughed and grinned happily. It really was relieving to be able to share the secret of my power with people I could trust. Just being able to get it out in the open and not keep it to myself all the time felt awesome.  
  
  
"Okay, well," he spoke as he looked at me, "I'm about done here. So~, how do we–you know–get back to normal?"  
  
"Well," I started to reply as I backed up into the wall he pushed me against, "I find it's a pretty good idea to take the same places we were in when I actually stopped time. That way people don't realize that someone just disappeared or jumped places before their eyes."  
  
"Good point. **I** was freaked out enough by that when you did it."  
  
I smirked as he walked up to me and stood before me like a tense statue.  
  
"What?" I asked. "It's not going to hurt you or anything."  
  
"I know. This is just... kind of weird... standing in front of you like this."  
  
"Oh, well, if you want, we could make out before time starts again."  
  
"Ohh, gross!" he exclaimed as I laughed hysterically. "Just... set the clock to 'normal' or whatever."  
  
I chuckled slyly, but I still did as he requested.  
  
  
Frank jumped and shouted loudly in surprise at the sudden sounds resuming all around us. Unsurprisingly, he got a few strange looks from the other kids around, though they quickly ignored it and went back to what they were doing. Frank, meanwhile, was busy catching his breath and wiping the sweat from his forehead.  
  
"You gonna be okay?" I asked again with a smirk.  
  
"Yeah," he breathed. "eventually. Especially if this all turns out to be a dream."  
  
I laughed as he shook his head at everything that just transpired. I placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.  
  
"See you in fifth, man."  
  
"See ya," he replied with a deep sigh.  
  
I smiled as I watched Frank walk away, continually shaking his head in disbelief. I chuckled to myself while I also began to head off. The bell to end lunch soon rung out and so, it was back to class I went.  
  
  
After I took my seat, I saw Eve and Lila walking in together. Both of them looked at me and gave me their own respective, pretty smiles. I grinned and focused back on my work, feeling pretty damn proud with myself. Not long after, Jennifer walked by and punched me square on the arm.  
  
"Ow~," I playfully whined as I turned to her and rubbed my arm. Funnily enough, her hitting me didn't hurt nearly as much as it usually did. Must have been my incredible, bulging muscles absorbing the impact.  
  
"That was for being a dick earlier," she quietly explained herself as she took her seat behind me. " _And_ for not fessing up when I ask you who you've been banging."  
  
"Sorry," I replied with a grin, "but a true gentleman never kisses and tells."  
  
"I guess they don't fuck and tell either," she muttered before turning her attention to her classwork. I jovially laughed just before we settled back into class.  
  
  
Even though it was Friday, I was a little disappointed when I heard the bell to end class. It'd be another few days until I was graced by the shining faces of Eve, Lila and, yes, even Jennifer. After I slipped my backpack over my shoulders, I was greeted very briefly by Lila. She gave me one last, quick hug before smiling at me.  
  
"See you on Monday," she said.  
  
"See you then," I replied. She then caught up with Eve, who also flashed me a smile before the duet left together.  
  
"Jesus," Jennifer muttered as she walked by me, "how **many** of them have you done?" I smirked and laughed quietly as I departed class just after her. Of course, considering that I was behind her, I had to get in a quick grab of her butt with both hands. That action granted me a swift heel to the shin. I yelped and grinned as I hobbled along. It was totally worth it.  
  
  
By the time I made it to Spanish, I'd gotten over the pain and took my seat. A moment later, Sarah and Jordan both entered class together. Their lips were spread into huge grins as they looked at me. From that mere glance, I started preparing for **some** kind of trouble from them.  
  
"Hey there, Anthony," Jordan greeted me.  
  
"Ladies," I casually replied, watching them carefully. The two of them giggled at each other while they sat down behind me. They were planning another one of their pranks on me - that was for certain. By the time I heard the bell to start class, I almost felt relieved when I realized they hadn't yet tried anything.  
  
A short time later, amongst the quiet of class, I felt an odd sensation in my head out of nowhere. It was a weird, itchy, buzzing feeling right along the back of my skull. I kept scratching the area to rid myself of it, but it kept on reasserting itself. I casually glanced back at Sarah to make sure she wasn't doing anything funny like zapping the back of my head with a taser or something.  
  
I groaned softly when the sensation became more intense. It wasn't like it hurt, it became something I just couldn't ignore. I furred my eyebrow, getting the sense of a strange premonition. It was like a little voice in the back of my mind telling me that _something_ was about to happen, but I didn't know what. Just a moment later, I felt a tapping on my right arm. I turned around to that side to see Sarah smile at me. She then pointed to the ground and I looked down to find she'd dropped her pen.  
  
With my back turned away from the opposite aisle, I unquestioningly reached down for her pen. Just then, I blinked my eyes almost out of instinct—I'd unconsciously stopped time.  
  
I sat up straight and curiously looked around, wondering why I had done that. Almost immediately, I spotted Jordan. She was sneakily reaching for the pen on my desk with another one set in her hand: a disturbingly girly, pink pen with flowers and cat faces all over it. I quickly realized what they were up to, and I didn't know whether or not to laugh or feel like a complete idiot for not seeing that coming. I had to give them points, though, they were clever in their plans to embarrass me.  
  
  
With literally infinite time on my side to plan out my counter-attack, I hummed as I tapped it to my chin.  
  
"Aha," I uttered. Setting up a purely cartoonish retribution, I calmly took the pen out of her hand and swapped it with my own. I set the pink pen on my desk and then snickered to myself. I reset my posture back to where I was just before stopping time, and then started it again.  
  
The sounds of the pens switching, although so minute, were somehow blatantly obvious to me. I picked up Sarah's pen and handed it back to her with a smile. She smiled back at me.  
  
"Thanks," she whispered.  
  
I then turned around and saw my own pen patiently awaiting my return. I calmly picked it up before resuming my work. It was only seconds later that I heard the utterance of confusion from Jordan.  
  
"What happened?" Sarah whispered.  
  
"I dunno!" Jordan whispered back. "I think I messed up!"  
  
My hearing was so intensely attuned once again. I was amazed to have heard their conversation as clearly as if they were whispering into **my** ear. I felt like an absolute spy.  
  
Regardless, I couldn't help but smirk devilishly to myself as the two girls were left scratching their heads.  
  
  
Class soon came to an end. I packed away my belongings and got to my feet with my backpack over my shoulders. While most of our classmates were busy filing out the door, I stood there and smirked happily at the two girls behind me. They looked up curiously at me as I waved 'goodbye' to them.  
  
"Better luck next time, Jordan," I remarked. Their expressions turned to surprise before they looked at each other. I literally had the last laugh as I headed toward my next class. The duo were left even more confused than before.  
  
I had a spring in my step as I weaved in and out of the crowding hallway. I made my way outside, taking in a deep breath of the fresh air, before entering my Driving class. After I had taken my seat, I felt a little bit of nervousness upon seeing my friends walking into class together. I couldn't get over the slight suspicion that Frank would blab about the time stop earlier. However, I knew I could trust Frank and, again, it would be a pretty hard sell to convince someone that I could just 'stop time.'  
  
  
"There's the superhero!" Brandon said, bumping fists with me as he passed by to take his seat. I turned to Frank with a content, yet curious gaze. Frank shook his head a pressed a finger to his lips, letting me know he didn't tell anyone. He and Josh also took their seats as Brandon continued on.  
  
"The man with the healing factor, the lightning moves and a kick that can knock down a tree! And he's not bad with the ladies." The lot of us chuckled, including Frank. It was nice to see him in a good mood again.  
  
"So," Brandon went on as he rustled through his backpack. "How many asses have you kicked today? One hundred? Two hundred?"  
  
"Yeah," Josh chimed in, "and have many ladies have you killed?" That remark got strange looks from all three of us. He stared back at us in confusion. "...What? I meant he's a 'lady-killer.' You know, good with the ladies?"  
  
After a moment of pause, Brandon finally spoke up.  
  
"I don't get it," he said.  
  
I laughed in amusement while Josh was baffled by our misunderstanding. With a smile, I then faced forward in my seat once again to begin class.  
  
  
By the time class was ending, we had all resumed chatting once again. The bell to end class rung out and the four of us got up, ready to close out the day in our final period. We made our way outside and prepared to go our separate ways.  
  
"Try not to make too many girlfriends by the next time we see you," Josh joked as Brandon put a hand on my shoulder.  
  
I laughed. "I'll _try_. See you guys on Monday."  
  
"See ya, Anthony," Frank said as we all moved on toward our respective destinations. I went back inside once more, headed up the stairs, and into my English class.  
  
Taking into consideration that it was both Friday and the final period, our teacher decided to give us a generous free period to do whatever we want. I was pretty psyched about it, yet so incredibly content the entire time. I ended up talking to a few people for a short time, but for the most part I kept to myself as usual. I just kept thinking about how well things were going for me and held on to the genuine hope that it would always continue to stay that way.  
  
All of the girls I had befriended, and, yes, made it all the way with, were so great. There were others, still, that had consumed my fantasies for months. I could only hope that I would be as lucky with them as with the others. Would fate intervene on my behalf some more or would I have to make those fantasies come true on my own? One thing was for certain: I was very eager to find out.  
  
  
The final bell flooded our ears. I was a pile of indifference toward it since, for probably the first time in my life, I didn't _mind_ school at all. After all, I had so many friends, both new and established, to make it so much more enjoyable. At the same time, it was Friday. The weekend was approaching, which meant I could do whatever the hell I wanted.  
  
I headed downstairs, deciding not giving myself my usual end-of-school head start to get out to the buses faster. I hopped onboard my bus and then took my usual seat–the entirety of it, of course–to myself.  
  
Just as I had gotten settled in, I was greeted by a familiar face that sat down across from me.  
  
"'Sup, Anthony," the very tall and lanky Oleg greeted me.  
  
I was surprised to see him talking to me. We were usually on good terms with each other, though he and I had our spats in the past. Our 'fights' were mostly harmless and usually took place online in the form of instant messages. It was also odd to see him sitting so far 'up.' He was one of the ones that liked to sit at the extreme back of the bus.  
  
"Hey man, what's going on?" I inquisitively asked.  
  
"Not much, not much," he replied, waiting for someone to pass by him before continuing. "Yo, some guys at school were talking to me about you."  
  
"Oh yeah?" I curiously asked, sitting up a bit. "What's the word?"  
  
"Word is, they want you to hang with us. You want in?"  
  
I smirked and shrugged. "Dunno man, I'm _pretty_ busy..."  
  
"Oh come on, don't give me that shit," he replied, leaning back a bit as someone else passed by.  
  
"Yeah, okay, I'll hang. Where at and when?"  
  
"Behind the new flower shop. You know, at the far end of town. We're gonna be there at, like, nine."  
  
"That's pretty late. I got a bedtime, you know," I replied with a playful grin.  
  
"Yeah, whatever. You in?"  
  
I didn't really have anything else to do, so I was, in fact, in.  
  
"Sure."  
  
Oleg nodded and then got to his feet, immediately turning his attention to the back seats.  
  
"Yo, man, get the fuck up out of my seat!" he commanded.  
  
I frowned suspiciously as I watched him walk out of my line of sight. Guys like him weren't my preferred scene to be in. However, I was curious about who wanted me to hang out with them. At the same time, I got that weird, itchy, buzzing feeling in my head again just thinking about it. What an interesting Friday it was turning out to be.  
  
  
After the bus let me off at my stop, I found Sofia waiting for me once again.  
  
"Hey there," I greeted her with a smile as the two of us began to cross the street. "Seems like you're pretty okay with this 'walk home' becoming a regular thing, huh?"  
  
She laughed quietly. "Of course I am. So, how was your day? Did you get into any new fights?"  
  
"You'll be happy to know I did _not_."  
  
"Well, that actually does make me happy," she replied with a grin. "I noticed you're talking to a bunch of the girls you sit by in Biology. I just realized how lucky I am to be friends with the popular guy in school!" The two of us laughed while she gave me a gentle hug.  
  
I grinned, looking at her as she let go of me. It was really awesome that she and I were getting so much closer so quickly. It felt tantamount to how close I was to Talia, Eve, Lila or even Jennifer. The fact that she was so gorgeous to boot made that feeling even **more** awesome.  
  
  
The two of us headed inside our building and boarded the elevator as usual. The doors opened upon reaching my floor.  
  
"Well," Sofia said as I went to leave, "see you on Monday." Her eyes had a tinge of sorrow that caught me off-guard. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was almost upset that she had to wait a few days to see me again. I smiled reassuringly and waved to her.  
  
"See you then, Sofia."  
  
And, with that, the doors closed. Of course, she could have easily had arranged to meet up with me sometime. After all, we _did_ live in the same building. Perhaps she was just shy. Regardless of the reason, I headed on home with thoughts of my day–and of homework–circling through my mind.  
  
  
Later that night, I checked the clock on my computer—eight o'clock. I figured it was time to get ready to go meet Oleg and his 'friends.' I still had an inkling of suspicion about it, brought about once again by that weird feeling in my head. I wondered if, in the midst of my growing number of powers, I had somehow developed some sort of sixth sense for danger. Of course, I had 'sensed' something as laughably perilous as Jordan embarrassing me with that pen switch. I hummed curiously to myself as I pondered over it. I then rubbed my head briefly before putting my shoes on.  
  
The walk there wasn't too terrible, but it could certainly be considered exercise. I headed to the little strip mall that indeed contained the **budding** , new flower shop. It amazes me how clever I am.  
  
I headed around the back, looking at the cars illuminated by the orange lights hanging off the walls. I didn't see anyone at first, but as I went further, I found strands of rising grey smoke. From its source was a fairly numerous group of guys. Several of them were smoking cigarettes, which didn't really impress me too much. I humphed and put my hands in my pockets as I approached them.  
  
There seemed to be about a dozen of them which, at first glance, was kind of intimidating. I didn't know really any of them and suddenly they wanted me to be part of their group? I'd never introduced myself to so many people at once. Add to that the fact that they were all teenagers, they were expectedly going to be pretty critical of me.  
  
  
"Hey!" Oleg exclaimed as he looked at me. "There he is!"  
  
"Hey guys," I replied as casually as I could as they all turned to look at me. I tried not to lose my nerve with so many eyes on me. "What's going on?" I asked. Oleg walked up to me with a big grin, the two of us giving each other a quick little hand slap.  
  
He then answered, "Nothin', nothin'–just chillin'."  
  
"Hey man," a pretty large guy walked up to me. "Name's Steve." He was inexplicably wearing sunglasses at night, which, surprisingly, did not look cool or smart.  
  
I nodded to him. "Hey. I'm Anthony."  
  
"Cool. Welcome, Anthony. Want a smoke?"  
  
I looked over at the other guys, most of which were still looking at me. I then cocked a smirk at him.  
  
"Nah, I'm good. I smoked about five on the way here. I think I've got my fill of nicotine for a while."  
  
My remark seemed to visibly confuse Oleg. He'd never been very bright.  
  
"It's cool," Steve replied, nodding in understanding.  
  
  
Oleg went back to hang with the others while Steve stayed with me. It seemed neither of us had any of what to say to each other as he continued to puff on his cigarette. He looked over his shoulder a few times, almost like he was worried someone might catch them. I decided to speak up to break the silence.  
  
"Well, uh... why did you guys want me anyway?"  
  
"Just to hang," he replied.  
  
"... Oh," I replied with a hint of confusion. "Okay then."  
  
He then waved for me to follow him, and led me to the group of guys. I greeted some of them with a quick tip of my chin, getting a greeting back of the same. It instantly became pretty hard for me to feel like I was fitting in. I knew of these guys, none of them looked like me, all of them smoked and they all carried the same air of self-importance around with them.  
  
I had no idea what Steve's idea of hanging was, but so far it was really dull. From behind his sunglasses, it seemed like he wasn't even looking at me. With such a level of disinterest, I couldn't figure why this guy would want me around. Something just seemed really off, and my buzzing head alerted me of that.  
  
  
After a few moments of silence between us, Steve finally spoke again.  
  
"So," he said while letting smoke vent out of his nose. "Heard you fucked up some guy at school. What was his name?"  
  
"Jason," I replied.  
  
"Yeah, Jason!" he exclaimed, pointing his cigarette-clasped fingers at me. "I know him."  
  
I was genuinely surprised by the remark. I'd never given pause to how popular Jason was or wasn't.  
  
"Oh yeah? How do you know him?"  
  
"Well," he said. "if you really want to know..." he trailed off, leaving me confused as he nodded to the other guys. He then tilted his glasses down so I could see his eyes. "He's the one that wanted you to meet us."  
  
It was then that I realized the other guys had formed something of a semi-circle around me. I was frozen in shock. I couldn't believe it—I actually got set up. Me, a nobody from school who happened to make a handful of new female friends and knocked down some bully in the cafeteria. I wasn't the prom king, the school quarterback or even the spelling champ... I was just a guy. And yet, here I was, in the middle of a trap.  
  
  
The first place I focused on was Oleg's eyes.  
  
"Seriously?" I asked him. He shook his head and shrugged.  
  
"Hey man, I had no idea. I was just passing off a message."  
  
It figures. Part of me wanted to yell at Oleg as I didn't exactly believe he had no idea of what was happening. The other part of me wasn't surprised at Oleg being used as a message boy. I sighed heavily while turning my attention back to Steve.  
  
"So then," I said. "What do you have in store for me?"  
  
Steve shook his head before stamping out his cigarette.  
  
"Not me, man. He's on his way right now."  
  
  
It wasn't long after that I heard the crunching of gravel from footsteps nearby. Jason had arrived.  
  
" **There you are, you little punk-bitch!** " he shouted, announcing his arrival.  
  
His his hand, he held a hockey stick, like that was supposed to intimidate me. Furthering the threatening display, he was flanked by his two goons just as he was last time. The same ones that did a whole nothing and even laughed at him as he got knocked down. Jason laughed as he took a good look at the scene that had already been unfolded before him. Seemed he had me cornered. Yet, at the same time, I stood there with my arms folded across my chest. I had a rather unimpressed look on my face.  
  
"You ready now, little boy?" he said as he neared me. "I'm gonna beat your ass down, bitch."  
  
"I really wouldn't try," I replied with a shake of my head, smirking confidently. "I dropped you once already."  
  
"You just got **lucky, you little shit!** " he angrily shouted, posturing as though to intimidate me. "I'll make you sorry for putting your hands on my property."  
  
I narrowed my eyes. I absolutely hated that he insisted on calling Nora _that_.  
  
"She's not your 'property,' you idiot!" I shot back. "Leave her out of this. And, leave me alone, unless you want to get hurt again."  
  
"You shut your fucking mouth, faggot!"  
  
My spite for him swirled up all over again. He was all bark and no bite. He **loved** to run his mouth and somehow thought that made him tough. The only thing it made him was easy to counter.  
  
I then asked, "Nora wasn't calling me a 'faggot' when she was making out with me, now was she?"  
  
That was enough to send him over the edge. He came charging at me with an angry yell, his eyes bloodshot with rage.  
  
My head was buzzing wildly, all of my senses sent into overdrive. I found myself moving quickly and reacting out of sheer instinct. I didn't need to freeze time again to fight him—all I needed was the well-timed, sharp kick that I sent straight between his legs.  
  
  
And, just like that, the 'fight' was over. Jason dropped his hockey stick as he doubled over with his hands stuffed between his thighs. He groaned, sounding like he'd had the wind knocked out of him. I kept my unblinking eyes on him, studying his painful writhing carefully. I'd been there before–it hurts. That's exactly why I did it to him.  
  
"I told you you were gonna get hurt," I replied as I stood over him. The adrenaline in me began to fade, my senses returning to normal again.  
  
He shot a large wad of spit from his mouth as he shouted, " **F-Fuck you!** "  
  
"Well," I replied as I kicked his hockey stick over to him, "at least your _other_ little stick is still intact."  
  
There was nothing else that needed to be said or done. I frowned as I turned away and began to walk off with my hands in my pockets, leaving Jason fondling his bruised jewels on the ground behind me. The shocked circle of guys parted out of my way, allowing me to leave as they all stared incredulously at me.  
  
"Holy shit," one of them said.  
  
"That kid's a fucking badass," another remarked.  
  
"Who is he?" a third asked.  
  
"I don't remember seeing him like _this_...," Oleg chimed in. I then turned the corner and left their sight.  
  
  
Back home, I sighed heavily as I collapsed on my bed. I peered over at the table clock, seeing that it was a little before ten. I then blankly stared at my popcorn ceiling and just thought. I had plenty of time to think on the way home, but I was too agitated during the walk to bother with thinking. Being back home, in my bed, I was more at peace. I placed a hand on my chest, my fingers rhythmically tapping on my ribs.  
  
I really didn't feel good or bad about what had transpired—I was just indifferent. On the one hand, I had finally made it pretty clear that I wasn't someone that Jason was able to mess with anymore. I didn't feel cocky about it either, since there was no point. I beat him in a fight - so what? Who cares? The whole point was to defend myself and get him off my back. The only thing I really cared about was getting him away from Nora next. She didn't deserve a complete asshole like him for a boyfriend and, hopefully, I had become one step closer to ridding him from her life.  
  
On the other hand, I felt a little sorry for him as well. Leaving him there on the ground, emasculated, in front of his friends must have been pretty awful. I mean, I don't know what happened to him in the past to make him such an unrepentant dick, but I can only imagine it was pretty bad. Still, his life really wasn't my concern. If there was some kind of problem in his life he needed to work out, he'd need to deal with it himself.  
  
I yawned and stretched my arms high over my head. I felt pretty tired and so, considering I was right there in bed already, I figured I would call it a night early.  
  
  
The next morning, I woke up nice and late. It always felt great to get to sleep in. I treated myself to my own breakfast and even got to eat it without having to _stop time_ , too. Aren't the weekends great?  
  
I headed into the bathroom, stopping for a moment to gaze in the mirror once again. My muscles had somehow become even more cut than the previous day. I was truly amazed at how toned my muscles were getting. I found myself flexing like a bodybuilder would as I admired my new look. If this was puberty, it was hitting me like a freight train. I just hoped they didn't start inflating like an air mattress or something. I didn't want to look like some juiced-up gorilla.  
  
Once done there, I went to get dressed. As I did, I remembered the fact that Natalie said she was going to be gracing the beach with her presence. It put a smile upon my face. I wondered how good my confidence, as well as my ability and faith in myself to talk to the opposite was. Could I actually just head to the beach and charm her with my awesome power and my cool, manly physique? Well, there was always only one way to find out.  
  
With the mere thought of her stunning body in a bikini in my head, I quickly hopped into a pair of swim trunks and sandals. However, I still had a couple of hours before Natalie and her friend were going to show. So, I decided to kill some time by playing some video games and chatting with my friends on the computer. All the while, I thought who I was sitting around in my room in a bathingsuit.  
  
Oleg actually messaged me at one point. He reiterated the fact that he had no idea that I was being set up and also congratulated me on the "kick ass job" I did dealing with Jason. I suppose I couldn't stay bitter at him over something I couldn't really prove. I accepted the fact that he was just being the messenger and thanked him for the praise. He then kept going on and on about it, to the point where he was almost sucking up to me. It was pretty eye-rolling and so I told him I was going to head off just to end that conversation.  
  
I disconnected and then made myself some lunch. The sun was a blazing ball of white in the sky. The wintertime along the beach wasn't typically 'winter' most of the time. There were plenty of times where the temperature rose high enough to feel like summer. As I stepped onto my balcony to get a good look outside, it certainly felt nearly that hot. But that was okay, I had always loved my home. Rolling with the daily change in the weather was just a part of life—and life was certainly something I wasn't able to get enough of.  
  
  
A short time later, I put on some sunscreen to protect my fair skin. I was prone to burning pretty easily. I snagged a towel and threw it over my shoulder. Then, looking like a true beach bum, I headed downstairs and outside. I was greeted by the picturesque blue sky and the heat of the bright sun. I walked off the property, onto the sidewalk where a smattering of other people were also enjoying the early afternoon. I made my way across the street, **always** being safe and looking both ways before I crossed, to the outskirts of the new park just outside the beach.  
  
I smiled as I walked past families and friends resting on the grass, enjoying their lunch, playing Frisbee and having a good time all to the sound of children's laughter in the background. The park was a new introduction, but already a very popular one. The flocks of tourists and residents alike all loved the idea of having a grassy little 'oasis' from the beach right there within walking distance from the sand.  
  
Soon, I was on the very edge of the sprawling beach's sandy walkway. There were a **lot** of people out. It really didn't surprise me in the least, being that it was the middle of a Saturday. The sea breeze was as pungent as it was going to get as my feet casually strode upon the soft sand. Living on the beach, the shifting earth beneath me was like second nature at that point. I could never tire of it.  
  
I made my way north, keeping my eyes peeled amongst the masses for any bodacious bodies. And, while there were quite a few, none were quite as bodacious as the young lady whom I was searching for.  
  
After a few minutes, I began to wonder if it was even going to be possible to find her. There was so much area to comb and so many people lining every square foot of sandy rental space.  
  
"Holy crap!" a voice exclaimed from nearby. I was surprised I heard it over the noise of countless people talking, the wind and the ocean waves. I turned my head and there Natalie was, right there, like she'd just been in front of my nose the whole time. "You're the guy from my Biology class!" she added.  
  
My mouth spread into a huge grin. Looked like _she_ was the one ended up finding _me_.


	10. Natalie

After Natalie called to me, I curiously looked around the beach. I then looked at her, pointing to myself with an innocent look on my face. She laughed and nodded.  
  
"Yes, **you!** " she exclaimed, waving me over. "Come here!"  
  
Well, how could I resist _any_ kind of invitation from her? I smiled happily as I walked over to her.  
  
"Wow," I said. "What a coincidence seeing you here."  
  
"I know, right?" she responded with a slight grin. "You here to hang out in the water or to get some sun? You look like you could use it."  
  
" **Good** one," I replied in a playfully sarcastic tone, causing her to chuckle. "I'm surprised you don't have a plastic bucket and shovel to make sand castles. Did you leave them at home?"  
  
"Wow, you're funny, aren't ya?" she said with a cheeky smirk. She then looked me over and thought to herself a moment before continuing. "... Hey, why don't you hang out with me for a bit? I've never gotten to talk to you, like, ever."  
  
"Dunno," I said as I looked around. "I've got so many places be, things to do..."  
  
"Aw, seriously? Are you _really_ going to make me beg?" She stuck her bottom lip out, pouting ever so cutely at me. I could definitely say I was already getting to like her.  
  
"Oh, all right. I never could resist a woman's charms."  
  
"Good to know," she replied with a devious smirk as she watched me kneel down to drape my towel out on the sand beside hers.  
  
  
I then kicked my feet out in front of me, landing on the towel with my butt. I quickly laid on my side, casually posing for her with a sly smirk.  
  
She laughed. "Very cute."  
  
"Why, thank you," I replied with a comical grin. She then chuckled wryly.  
  
"You know, you don't look so bad with your shirt off," she remarked, idly laving her tongue against her lip.  
  
Of course, I couldn't wait to get in the quick return compliment. Best to strike while the iron was hot, and mine was getting pretty hot already.  
  
"I can easily say the same about _you_."  
  
She chuckled again, almost as though she was expecting that response. She then picked up a bottle of suntan lotion and began to rub it into her arm.  
  
  
"So," she said, "tell me a little about yourself. I don't even know your name."  
  
"The name's Anthony. I'm just a guy, I guess. There's not much to say about me. I just like to hang with friends, play video games. ... I also like candlelight dinners and long walks on the beach," I added, suggestively raising my eyebrows up and down.  
  
"I can tell you're the joker of the class, too," she remarked as she cocked a smirk at me. She rubbed the lotion onto her belly and then her legs. "Most of the time I hear that loud girl behind you bitching about _something_ you did."  
  
I casually shrugged. "That sounds like me. But, she and I have a weird, little dynamic going on. We just have fun getting on each others' nerves."  
  
"That _is_ weird." She then casually dropped the bottle by her side. She scooted further down the towel, laid on her back and closed her eyes.  
  
She was pretty far away from the watery playground which was the ocean. I supposed that made sense, seeing as how she was more interested in trying to soak up the sunlight. The position she laid in allowed me to freely gaze over her mind-blowing, shimmering body. There was no way she didn't do that to me on purpose.  
  
She was wearing a small, green, two-piece bikini that gave the impression that she was trying to show off that gorgeous body of hers. The bikini itself was tied in knots around her hips and behind her back. It very easily got my mind going as I imagined untying the flimsy cloths off of her.  
  
Oh, how envious I was on that tiny green bikini separating me from those absolutely spectacular orbs of hers.  
  
  
She then peered an eye open and looked at me. "Don't stop talking now," she implored. "I don't want to be bored."  
  
"I see!" I replied with a laugh. "It's all about you, huh?"  
  
She smirked and closed her eyes. "It _always_ is."  
  
She reminded me a bit of Jennifer. Although, Jennifer wasn't usually as... _self-confident_ as Natalie seemed to be.  
  
"So, what brings _you_ here, anyway?" I asked. She sighed and shook her head in annoyance.  
  
"Right now I'm waiting for my lazy-ass friend to come join me, but she's taking her sweet time. The two of us are going to tan for a bit and then we're going to a photo shoot in a couple hours."  
  
"Photo shoot?"  
  
"Yeah," she replied with a nonchalant shrug. "Some talent agency is looking at me right now. They want me to do modeling."  
  
"That really _doesn't_ surprise me," I remarked as I gazed over her figure. "And they're not the only ones looking at you right now."  
  
She smirked as she once again peered an eye open at me. She stared at me for just a brief moment before facing the sky again.  
  
"I don't doubt it," she casually replied. "I've got **all** the guys in school turning their heads when I walk by. It's **only** going to get worse once my pictures get published, but, I'm sure I can handle it. Being a celebrity is all about having the right attitude."  
  
Her remarks brought a big grin to my face. She was very interesting.  
  
  
"You certainly have lots of attitude," I said. "You're very sure of yourself."  
  
"Is there any reason I shouldn't be?" she looked up at me with a curious gaze. "I **am** the hottest girl in school. No one even comes close to comparing to _my_ perfect looks." Her eyes then traveled down my body, just the same as I'd done for her. "And, like I said, you're pretty good-looking yourself."  
  
"You're complimenting an ordinary guy like **me**? _Wow._ I'm humbled to be noticed by such a 'big celebrity' like you."  
  
"Shut _up_ ," she playfully remarked. "Still, I bet you've gotten laid plenty of times, huh?"  
  
I didn't want to lie, so I decided I might as well partially admit to my sexual escapades.  
  
"I suppose you could say that. Right now, though, I'm not settling on any one girl. I'm just sort of... trying different things to see what fits me."  
  
She chuckled suggestively. "What a coincidence, so am **I**."  
  
  
She then sat up once again, turning to me with a playful grin. "I just remembered, I need someone to do my back. Would you be interested in doing it?"  
  
" _Very_ ," I quickly replied as I propped myself up onto my knees.  
  
"Here you go, then," she said as she handed me the bottle of suntan lotion. She turned her back to me while I eagerly dabbed some lotion into my hand. She picked up the bulk of her long, brunette hair and let it rest in front of her shoulder. Almost immediately, I pressed both hands to her upper back and heard her gasp softly.  
  
"You don't waste any time," she quietly remarked.  
  
"Not with a girl like you," I responded as I eased closer to her.  
  
She chuckled softly, both of us enjoying each others' company already. I worked my hands into the soft flesh of her back. She let out a sigh of pleasure as I began making it pretty clear I wasn't going to simply slather her back with lotion and be done. I wanted to make it more interesting.  
  
I pressed my fingertips and my palms into her firm muscles, working her back like an amateur masseuse. I moved back up to her shoulders, rubbing and squeezing them in my hands. She let out a warm sigh through her open mouth, letting her head tilt back a little.  
  
"Take your time," she softly spoke. "That's the way I like it."  
  
"I'll keep that in mind," I replied.  
  
  
As I moved down her back again, I brushed past the knotted strap of her top. I resisted the urge to just pull that knot and let it fall off her body. It was taunting me with its draping tassels that beckoned to be tugged on. I moved past it, focusing my attention on her lower back.  
  
I rubbed slowly in circles, all the while listening to her soft, pleased responses. I pressed my palms hard into the denser muscles, causing her to straighten her back a bit.  
  
"Does it feel good?" I asked.  
  
"Mm-hmm," she replied with a soft groan. "You have a nice touch."  
  
"You have a nice body," I slyly replied. "I don't feel like stopping yet."  
  
"Good. I don't want you to stop."  
  
  
I decided to sit down, letting my legs rest by her sides. My hands went back up, slowly gliding across the entire length of her back. I then let my hands slip under the strap of her top and then drawing my hands around to the sides of her ribs, teasing her a little bit. She sighed quietly as I came so painfully close to her breasts before calmly pulling back.  
  
As I resumed my massage, she placed her hand on my lower leg. She gently stroked her hand up and down, sending a shiver of excitement through me. Now that she had put her hand on me, all bets were off. She couldn't have made her interest any clearer to me.  
  
I responded to her touch by leaning in and placing a few kisses on her shoulder. She playfully chuckled, followed by a soft moan as I gently kissed up her neck. As my face continued upward, I massaged into her shoulders and neck more deeply. I then kissed around her ear and grazed my teeth along its outer edge.  
  
"This is the most _personal_ massage I've ever had..." she remarked, grinning and laughing when I suddenly sucked on her ear lobe.  
  
She seemed incredibly comfortable with me. I was eager to press the envelope to see just _how_ comfortable.  
  
  
"You know, this keeps getting in the way," I said as I began to calmly unravel the back tie of her top. "Can't do a good job with this here."  
  
She gave her response in the form of a curious gasp – as though she was surprised I was willing to do such a thing.  
  
Before the cups of her top could fall away from her splendid breasts, she covered her chest with her arms to keep the bikini in place. I smiled as to how open-minded she was, resuming kissing her shoulder. My hands went up and down her back more vigorously with the intent of exciting her further.  
  
She sighed quietly, soaking up the attention I gave her. Her body stayed relaxed with her head drooping just a little bit to give a sense of submission. I moved my hands down to her waist and started to move slowly, purposefully up her belly.  
  
My intentions were pretty clear to her by the time I touched her ribs once again. My fingertips slipped gently underneath the outer stitching of those soft, green cups. She held firm to her top, moving her arms up just enough to allow me access. She curiously looked over at me, both of us locking eyes for a few moments.  
  
  
A soft sigh escaped her lips when my oiled hands slid over her unbelievable breasts. My jaw hung slightly agape to finally touch those huge, bouncy orbs that had taunted me every day I watched her walk into class.  
  
Though excited, she still seemed a little hesitant. "Someone's going to see us," she remarked before gently biting her lip.  
  
"So? Isn't that part of the thrill?" I asked with a devious smirk. Her lips spread into a grin.  
  
"You're a naughty one. You're going to corrupt my _innocent_ , young mind."  
  
"I'll have to make it count and do my very best job of corrupting, then."  
  
Our faces then seemed to drift together in unison. Our lips mingled together, the two of us sharing our first kiss with each other. At the same time, I my hands slowly laved over the copious flesh of her bodacious breasts. We moaned softly onto each others' lips. For a moment, I wondered if there was anyone watching us. Feeling her nipples getting hard beneath my palms made me quickly stop caring, however.  
  
  
I squeezed as much of her breasts as I could in both hands, clasping my fingertips into them. They were so unbelievably big, yet felt so soft and natural. Our lips fell away from each other. She continued to gaze softly into my eyes briefly before closing them.  
  
"Oh, yeah...," she whispered as I continued to slowly massage her breasts. Her head drooped slightly once more, uttering soft sighs of pleasure.  
  
I smiled and watched her enjoy what I was doing to her. She was pretty clearly excited by the idea of doing this in such a public setting. As for me, I was more interested in making things more private - and a _lot_ more personal.  
  
"I want to tell you a secret," I quietly spoke as I gently flicked her erect nipples from side to side.  
  
"Mm~... what is it?"  
  
"What if I told you I could freeze time around us?"  
  
Her eyes slowly opened as she turned to me with an incredulous gaze. "... I would think you're a total nutcase."  
  
  
With an amused smirk, I decided to make a believer out of her. I then blinked and, unsurprisingly, froze time. Unlike the other times, the sudden removal of sound was **so** much more noticeable and striking. It was startling enough to cause her to gasp in surprise.  
  
"What... just happened...?" she asked, eyes wide with shock.  
  
"I told you I could freeze time - and I meant it."  
  
"Holy... shit..." she whispered, her breathing quickening. Her wide eyes slowly panned around, taking in her still surroundings. Her head then snapped over to me, staring at me in disbelief. "How?"  
  
"It's just a thing I can do," I nonchalantly replied with a casual shrug that left her baffled. "And now that that's out of the way," I added while calmly peeling her top away from her body and casually tossing it aside, "... you and I are free to do anything we want."  
  
She continued to stare at me in disbelief for a few moments, my hands carelessly toying with her massive mammaries. She studied the calm and collected expression on my face, and her breathing seemed to relax.  
  
"You're really serious about this," she softly remarked. "and very confident, too."  
  
"I guess a little of you rubbed off on me," I joked. "... I don't think there's any way for me to describe how bad I want you right now."  
  
  
Natalie calmly turned herself around, placing a hand on her towel with the other slipping behind my back. She propped herself onto my lap, letting her long legs drape open wide. We stared deeply into each others' eyes for a moment.  
  
Usually, the immobile state when leaving things time-stopped was an issue. But, I had become aware of that from when Eve nearly stepped on the 'death blades' of grass. Add to that my realization of how selective I could be in freezing objects from the last time I was on the beach, and I was able to effortlessly make the sand all around us soft and normal.  
  
Such a simple thing as soft sand never seemed to cross her mind for a minute. Her attention was focused solely on me, a pleased smile upon her face. Her hands casually slid down my chest, to my abs, then calmly began to untie the knotted tassels of my bathingsuit. She pulled down my shorts just enough to expose my very excited manhood. Without taking her eyes off mine, she reached for the tanning lotion and dabbed some on her palm. She carelessly tossed it aside before rubbing it together in her hands.  
  
  
"I hear you can't resist a woman's charms," she spoke in a sultry tone. "So I don't think you'll have a problem with this."  
  
I grinned, holding back a chuckle. "You seem to know me very well."  
  
Her slippery hands then took hold of my cock and gripped it tightly. I hissed softly, gritting my teeth and groaned in pleasure. She quietly chuckled, looking down at it while exploring every inch. She watched the head disappear and pop up in her palm, her other hand massaging further down the shaft. She then looked at me with a sly grin, soaking up the sight of my lusty expression.  
  
"You're **so** hot, Natalie," I remarked as she avidly jerked me. "I've dreamt about doing this with you for so long."  
  
"I'm not surprised, considering how irresistible I am," she calmly spoke. She then let out a deep sigh, casually looking around. "This whole 'time stop' thing is so exciting. ... I'm surprised you didn't try this on me earlier. I think I would've done you in a heartbeat..."  
  
I jokingly replied, "It's a recent development."  
  
I then gazed down at her body. I untied the sides of her bikini bottom before grabbing and tossing it aside. My hands rubbed over her thighs, quickly moving inward. I slid a hand between them, drawing a pleased sigh and an even bigger grin from her. She moaned softly, grinding against my hand as I slowly rubbed the thick petals of her sex.  
  
  
Natalie was noticeably wet already. It only served to intensify my sexual desire which was already soaring while we toyed around with each others' most sensitive areas. She riled me up further by shifting her crotch a bit closer to my own. It not only gave me a clearer view of her aroused pussy, but made me aware of our respective genitalia resting mere inches away from each other.  
  
I wanted her **so** badly, and she most definitely knew that.  
  
"You like how close it is, don't you?" she softly asked. "You're thinking about how you could just stick it in there right this second, huh?"  
  
"Wow, how did you know?" I asked, feigning surprise.  
  
She chuckled lecherously, taking her hands away from my penis. She playfully bit her lip as she slid off of me, beckoning me over with her index finger before laying down on her towel. Feeling chivalrous, I quickly picked up my towel, shook the sand off and rolled it into a pillow. I then slipped it under her head as she laughed.  
  
" _Such_ a gentleman," she remarked.  
  
"Just want to make you comfortable."  
  
"Oh, I'm _already_ comfortable with _you_ around..."  
  
  
The two of us kissed briefly with a heated passion. Natalie moaned and laid her arms over her head in a submissive pose. Both of us were panting by the time our lips parted and mine then started to travel to her neck, kissing further down in excitement. Her body lifted and arched in response to where I was kissing her, presenting herself more thoroughly to me.  
  
I made my first anticipated stop at her incredibly big breasts. I licked and sucked my way around her soft globes, mindlessly laving off the suntan oil that I'd worked so hard to massage into them. She grinned in excitement, moaning and shoving her breasts into my face without a care in the world. She laid flat on her back once again, allowing me to take both of her breasts in my hands. I hungrily sucked on her hard, tan-colored nipple. She panted and moaned, grabbing fistfuls of soft sand. I panted quite lustfully myself, my tongue laving all over her nipple and areola.  
  
I unconsciously moved on to her opposite nipple, sucking and gently snaring it between my teeth. At the same time, I looked up at her with a lustful daze in my eyes. She looked back at me with a similar gaze and an eager grin upon her lips. She was certainly enjoying this as much as I'd hoped she would, since it was very enjoyable so far on my end. Her gaze served to stoke the fires of my excitement, and I quickly yearned to go even further with her.  
  
  
I slurped on her nipple for just a moment, saliva coating her sensitive bud as I let her large breast pop out of my mouth. Eagerly, I kissed my way down her soft belly while she parted her legs in anticipation of my arrival. I quickly made my way between her thighs and very briefly gazed upon her wet sex.  
  
The first thing I noticed was her very pronounced clit – an invitation that drew me closer in a heartbeat.  
  
I planted the tip of my tongue to the base of her folds and drew up to the top in one smooth motion. Natalie let out a soft utterance of pleasure, her legs flexing inward slightly which amused me. I continued to do so, each flick of my tongue against her clit causing her body to wince while she gasped at the intensifying pleasure. I let my hands rest on the soft backs of her thighs as she then rolled her legs back for me.  
  
"Ooohh...," she lustfully moaned as she watched me. "You're **so** good at this..."  
  
Her lusty praise egged me onward. I began to work my tongue inside the entrance of her sex, rolling and laving my tongue within the very base of her contracting, excited walls. Deep, amorous moans rolled from her throat, reaching down with one hand to hold the back of my head.  
  
"Oh, yes...," she whispered.  
  
I moved back upward again, focusing my attention on her clitoris. From her sudden gasps and sharp moans, I could tell it was something she did not seem to mind at all. That's when I started relentlessly assaulting her clit with the rapid flicks of my tongue.  
  
  
Natalie's body started convulsing, her cries loud and high-pitched. She held my head tighter to her body, tacitly begging me not to stop. I answered her wordless call by clasping my lips around it, sucking and pulling my head from side to side as I gave her a clit licking like never before.  
  
Her eyes rolled back into her head and pulled her neck back. Her back slowly arched before her entire body practically set into rigor. A sudden gush of hot fluid poured out onto my chin and the towel. She panted and gasped in elation, her body wincing with each gorgeous contraction squirting more and more of her climax.  
  
I rested for a moment, happily watching her reel from her orgasm. It was so incredibly satisfying to watch her mind-blowing, naked body writhing in the warmth of sexual ecstasy that I had brought her.  
  
She didn't even come down off her high before she spoke. "Ohh, I want you to fuck me," "Please, fuck me..."  
  
Well, _that_ was a request that I couldn't wait to grant.  
  
  
Within seconds, I had pulled down my bathingsuit to my ankles and propped myself over her. Her eyes were just barely slit open as she looked up at me, spreading her legs wide.  
  
I held my raging erection in one hand and guided it into her wet, swollen slit. Natalie uttered a soft moan, placing her hands on the back of my neck while I began to push inside her. My jaw hung agape – her hot, tight and very wet muscles still going through the aftershocks of her orgasm as I stretched them around me.  
  
I don't think I had even pushed all the way inside her before my hungry, hungry hormones began to whip my hips into a smooth, steady rhythm. She seemed more than receptive to quickly getting started, uttering sweet, soft moans of pleasure.  
  
"Oh, yes..." she whispered as her body gently rocked beneath me. "Fuck me..."  
  
I stared deeply into her eyes as we panted heavily at one another, sharing such incredibly personal space with her. She wrapped her legs loosely around my butt, enabling me to plunge deeper into her heat.  
  
"I can't believe I'm really doing this with you," I breathily remarked. "I've wanted you for **so** long..."  
  
"Good...," she replied, "now we **both** get what we want..."  
  
She punctuated her remark by leaning in and kissing me deeply. I unsurprisingly kissed her back without hesitation, both of us moaning in eager, teenage lust onto each others' lips. One of her arms slid down to my lower back, and I took that as an indication to up the intensity.  
  
  
I worked to open her deeper muscles, shoving myself into the recesses of her hot belly. My harder thrusts caused her to gently pull away from our kiss. Her mouth opened wide, deep groans of lust rumbling from her plush lips as she fell into a lusty daze.  
  
"Ohh, god, _yes_...," she breathed. "This feels so good..."  
  
Our bodies slapped together harmoniously. Natalie's walls massaged me so splendidly tight, melting me inside her belly with her wondrous heat. I was struggling to pace myself at points and not simply explode inside her velvety walls as my body yearned to do. The physical and mental excitement washing over me was so very intense. My head tilted back to the sky as I swallowed, panting heavily, in awe that I was inside of the girl with the unreal body. The very same girl I caught myself ogling in Biology so many times and fantasized about how exactly I would or even could do her – day in and day out.  
  
The real thing was beyond **any** fantasy I could've cooked up.  
  
  
I soon found myself gazing down at her. Her big breasts became hypnotic as they bounced around wildly. I had to remind myself that I wasn't dreaming. Natalie's body was jerking and writhing in pleasure for real, right in front of me. I grinned for a brief moment, praising myself for the confidence to make it all the way with a girl that had been torturing my fantasies for months. That moment quickly passed as I focused back on the splendid pleasure that very same girl was giving me.  
  
"Ohh, I love this..." she moaned. "I love everything about this!"  
  
"So do I, Natalie..." I lustfully replied.  
  
I took her hand off my neck, interlocking my fingers into her own and pinned it to the ground. My weight pressed into her hand, cushioned by the sand. As she panted and moaned, she looked up at me. She seemed pleasantly surprised by the gesture of making our moment together a little more meaningful, not just to use each other as a fuck toy. I wanted to give her some kind of sign to let her know I was grateful to her for actually letting me go all the way with her — and also for her to hold on tight for what was coming next.  
  
  
My rhythm started ratcheting up, and I was soon pounding her belly with a lustful intensity. She cried out in sheer excitement, holding me closer to her. Her body amorously snaked and writhed as I fervently pounded her her walls that compacted tighter around me.  
  
"Oh, yes, don't stop!!" she exclaimed. "Please don't stop!!"  
  
Her lips were pulled back behind her teeth as she cried out blissfully to me. She looked up at me with an expression of pained pleasure. She quickly shoved a hand between her thighs, vigorously rubbing her clit. My body was dripping with sweat that rolled off onto her equally sweaty, very animated body. I feverishly worked to satisfy every single desire I ever had for the sexy young woman beneath me, as well as to satiate her ardent yearning for sexual pleasure.  
  
Natalie's head drew back once more, her pussy squelching as she dripped endlessly with fluids. I was amazed I could hear anything over the mix of intensely loud panting, groans and ecstatic cries the two of us had fallen into.  
  
Then, she called out my name in a heated lust that sent a shiver of delight down my spine.  
  
" **Oohh, Anthony~! Ohh!!** "  
  
  
With a loud squeal, Natalie finally came. Her intense walls forced me out as she rode out her second climax. Her body jerked and shuddered more intensely than the first time, gasping and sharply groaning as she was visibly racked with pleasure. Her hands euphorically rubbed her sweat-drenched body in an ecstasy-laden daze, sighing dreamily as she writhed and rolled her head in delight. She cupped a hand over her sex, her fingers stirring out the last few shudders of her orgasm. Her other arm gently pushed up against her mountainous breasts.  
  
Watching her in mindless, sweaty lust like that was way too much for me to handle. I positioned myself back over her, burning with the desire to shove myself back into her. I knew I was going to finish off at any second once I was back inside her. However, she had other plans for me.  
  
"Wait," she said with a hand upon my chest. "I want you to... to shove your cock in-between my tits."  
  
I was a bit confused by the request. I'd obviously never done it before, and such an act was like the holy grail of attractions for guys into women with big boobs. But, if it was what she wanted then I would. I was pretty desperate for anything to get me off at that point.  
  
I carefully yet eagerly positioned my body over her chest. My eyes were full of wonder, constantly shifting between her face and her breasts.  
  
She coaxed me onward. "Yes..., go on."  
  
I placed my rock-hard shaft betwixt Natalie's mountainous mammaries. Almost immediately, I was caved in by them as she pushed them tightly together. I uttered a soft gasp, unable to see myself beyond her splendrous orbs.  
  
  
I started to curiously thrust myself between them, holding her hands for support. Staring exclusively at her breasts, I listened to her sigh and moan softly as I pushed in and out. I was amazed at how new and exciting it felt, suddenly finding myself so much more thankful for the irresistible feminine form.  
  
Her sweat and leftover juices helped me glide along through the warm, silky skin tightly pressed around me. I began to thrust deeper, at the same time gazing down upon her flawless body. Her amazing breasts slightly, yet sharply, jerked with my rhythm. Her lips were curled into an open grin as she looked up at me, panting and moaning in enthrallment.  
  
My head fell back as I continued avidly shoving myself, overswept by the rush of what was happening. It suddenly became clear to me that my throbbing manhood was indeed visible beyond Natalie's breasts once I began to feel her tongue lap against the head with each inward thrust. I couldn't help but stop for a moment to enjoy her tongue laving over me. She drew a deep sigh out of me as she instead wrapped her lips around it, sucking and flicking her tongue over my head almost exactly as I had done to her clit earlier.  
  
Then, just as she pulled her lips away, she spoke to me.  
  
"Cum on my face," she insistently said. "I want to feel it all over me."  
  
I was unable to resist the sudden intrigue I felt from her proposition. My thrusts quickly became much more intense, unconsciously pushed on by my lover's words. My hands dropped down to the ground, pushing my hips harder and deeper.  
  
"Yes, that's it," she egged me on. "Do it, baby..."  
  
  
I wasn't exactly holding back any longer. Natalie panted heavily with each thrust, my head hanging down as I was hunched over her incredible body until the relief and ecstasy of my climax swept over me – and my seed swept over her face.  
  
Her lips clasped over the now hyper-sensitive head of my cock once more, moaning lustfully as she licked and sucked out the rest. I hissed and grit my teeth, tensing and shuddering as I watched her through half-lidded eyes. I then rolled to the side and laid on my back. The two of us gazed up at the inanimate sky, panting softly as we slowly came back to our senses.  
  
I looked over at her, causing her to do the same. What an unbelievable sight it was to see her face - which was always so meticulously groomed and flawless - sweaty and splotched with my clearish-white semen. Full of elation, the two of us then grinned and began to burst out laughing. I was so enthralled and amazed by everything that just happened. I could only imagine she felt the same way.  
  
  
"Holy crap," Natalie breathed. "I had no idea I was sharing third period with a... sex _god_."  
  
I was taken aback by such a distinction. "I wouldn't ... really call myself that," I so very humbly replied.  
  
"I would," she added in a sultry tone that made the hair on the back of my neck stand up in excitement. The two of us laid there and smiled at each other. What should have been a personal, serious moment was really off-set by the fact that she had cum all over her face.  
  
"I should probably wash up," she stated as she calmly sat up. I quickly joined her.  
  
"There's an ocean right there," I replied, getting to my feet and helping her up to hers. She smiled, appreciative of how thoughtful I was - even if she did poke fun at me for it earlier. She then looked over at the ocean with a curious gaze.  
  
"Well, uh, it doesn't look like it's moving," she remarked.  
  
"Let's see if I can fix that," I calmly replied, flashing her a confident grin. I turned my attention to the ocean, beginning to focus solely on it. Churning, rolling waves splashing over the shore was what we wanted. But then, I remembered just how massive that ocean actually was. I gave serious pause as to whether or not I could actually make the entire ocean 'start up' again.  
  
Just as I did, however, it roared to life, surprising both of us.  
  
  
"Wow," she remarked, taking the words out of my mouth. I quickly played it off and suddenly scooped her naked body up into my arms. "Hey! What are you doing?!"  
  
"You said you needed to get washed up," I replied, carting her over to the sea. She seemed very tense, looking at the water and then back to me.  
  
"The ocean's full of salt water!" she observantly stated. "My stylist is going to murder me!"  
  
"I'm sure they can work out the kinks," I calmly said with a big grin. I walked into the water, feeling the sand turn to a hard pathway of tiny shells under my feet. I carried her a few meters in, until the ends of her long hair touched the water.  
  
"No, wait– **aah!** " I then dropped Natalie into the water, and she immediately came back up with a gasp for air. "You are such a dick!" She angrily splashed me with water.  
  
"I didn't hear you _complaining_ about it earlier," I cheekily said, taking a seat and wading around in the water a little bit.  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Hilarious," she then looked at me with a begrudged grin and shook her head. "Well ... I guess the salt will wash out anyway," she added as she playfully splashed me again. I decided to splash her back, which started a war between the two of us.  
  
"Hey, stop it!" she laughed and exclaimed. She very clearly started to lose and so, decided to retreat back to dry land.  
  
  
I followed her back to her spot, all the while admiring the view of her from behind. I could only imagine how silly we must've looked as two completely naked people, in a very non-nude beach, casually striding out of the water. She reached into her beach bag and pulled out a towel to dry herself. I wasn't really too concerned about drying off, instead picking up and slipping on my shorts.  
  
"Well," she spoke up as she dried her hair, "at least you're the only guy in school who can brag about fucking me." I chuckled happily. "Don't actually do it, though. I'd like to have some modicum of privacy."  
  
"'Modicum,' eh? Interesting vocabulary."  
  
"I'm not all _beauty,_ baby," she amorously replied before leaning in and giving me a quick kiss on the lips. That casual comfortable feeling between us just made the entire time with her so much more satisfying. I was looking forward to hanging out for her a while longer.  
  
  
Natalie bent over and picked up her bathingsuit pieces and then calmly began to tie them back on. Once she was dressed, she took a look around and heaved a sigh. She then looked at me with a smirk and shook her head in disbelief.  
  
"I have to say," she quietly remarked, "this was **different**."  
  
I joked, "It definitely gives a new meaning to 'sex on the beach.'" She smirked and continued looking around for a moment before speaking again.  
  
"I'll admit, I would've been scared to death about all this... 'time freezing' shit if not for how calm you were about it. ... You **can** turn this all back to normal, right?"  
  
I suddenly had a nervous look on my face. "Well, uh, actually, we're pretty stuck here."  
  
" **What?!** " she exclaimed, her eyes bulging out. She hyperventilated as though she was about to faint. My lips slowly curled into a devious smile.  
  
"Oh, I got you real good," I calmly replied. "That look is priceless." She heaved a sigh, placing a hand on her chest to still her heart.  
  
"Wow, **please** don't do that to me. I mean, this was great and all, but I have a modeling career to think about here. A very successful one at that."  
  
I chuckled. "No lack in confidence."  
  
She placed a hand on her hip and whipped her damp hair behind her head. "Like I said, any reason why I shouldn't be confident?"  
  
"Good point," I replied with a big smirk. "Now, I believe I was rubbing this suntan stuff into your boobs when I decided to, you know, do that time freezing thing."  
  
"May~be we can call an audible, and have you rub my back instead. Just to avoid any awkward situations. I was _way_ too nervous with you trying that with all these people around."  
  
I nodded in agreement. "Sounds good."  
  
  
I followed Natalie down as she took a seat back on her towel. She idly cleared her throat and straightened the towel out while I sat behind her.  
  
"That reminds me," she playfully said, "you're gonna have to do my back again."  
  
"With pleasure!" I replied, getting a small laugh from her.  
  
"I figured you couldn't get enough pleasure. Guys are **too** predictable."  
  
The two of us then shared one more brief kiss. She then pulled away, grinning playfully at me. I smiled back, dabbing some lotion onto my hand and starting to rub it into her shoulders. She sighed, letting her eyes close with a big smile upon her face. Then, the sounds of the bustling beach all became very audible to us. As was the norm by then, it pretty much surprised the crap out of her and caused her to jump in surprise.  
  
"Jesus," she breathed. "It's **way** louder than I expected. Do you have some kind of... 'superpower volume knob' you can dial down?"  
  
I just chuckled in amusement and continued to massage her back.  
  
  
A few moments later, her friend came racing up to us.  
  
" **Natalie!!** " she anxiously shouted. Both of us quickly looked over to see her and the very worried look on her face. Her worry turned to intrigue when she noticed me. "Who's this dude?"  
  
"He's someone from my Biology class," Natalie casually replied, glancing over at me with a smile. "He's pretty cool. Why don't we all hang for a–?"  
  
"Yeah, sounds great," her friend interrupted, "but we have a serious problem!"  
  
"What?" Natalie asked, becoming much more interested.  
  
"The guy we're supposed to meet is waiting for us by the **other** side of the Apex!!" Natalie gasped loudly, horror upon her face. "We gotta hurry over there — **now!** "  
  
It didn't take but a second for Natalie to jump to her feet. She quickly began picking up her belongings and shoving them into her beach bag. I stood up, getting a quick one-handed hug and one last kiss on the cheek from her. Her friend had already started running off.  
  
"Well, it was great, Anthony, but I gotta run!" She then slipped on her sandals and began to bolt after her friend as best she could through the sand. "See you on Monday!!" she called back to me.  
  
"See ya!" I replied.  
  
Well, that was one hell of an entertaining scenario I just witnessed.  
  
  
With nothing else to do and no other girls' backs to massage, I decided to pack up and head on home. I picked up my towel, still rolled into a pillow for the lovely girl that just took off. I shook the sand off of it before draping it over my shoulder. I then began to saunter away, looking like I owned the beach. I had a big, confident smile upon my lips and a cool stride in my steps. I looked back for just a quick moment, but the beach was so busy I couldn't see either of the girls by then.  
  
My time with Natalie was amazing. The two of us both knew what that was and I knew she had no attachment to me. A small part of me was kind of hoping to maybe hang out with her and make the moment feel a little more complete. That abrupt departure made it feel a little... unfinished. Even still, getting to go all the way with **her** was something I'd never forget. She was ridiculously attractive, _and_ she was on her way to becoming a model. Just knowing that added onto my confidence, but it was also making me a little arrogant. I started getting it into my head that, if I could make it with her, I could make it with any woman I damn well pleased.  
  
As I was making my way back to the park, I casually eyed the young women along the beach and smirked. I fantasized about walking up to them and charming them easily into letting me do as I pleased. I couldn't help but snicker to myself, feeling cocky enough to know those girls had no idea how great I could be for them or how much of a 'sex god' I was - just as Natalie had called me. I strolled down the park's pathways, paying no mind to the similar scenes that had made me feel happy earlier. Instead, my eyes were busy checking out the girls and what they could have to offer me.  
  
  
After I'd gone back home, I took a quick shower to get the sand, salt water and bodily fluids off of me. I then fell back into my usual rhythm of nothing much to cool down from my experience. A little later, Frank called. We spent the majority of the phone call just playing our respective video games and talking about it, doing other idle things while happening to have a phone tucked under our ear.  
  
It was a strange, sort of 'nothing' conversation that the two of us had built up doing over the years of knowing each other. We could usually keep it up for well over an hour or more. Maybe it was us wanting to feel like our typical, daily routine suddenly had someone else we could talk about it with.  
  
But, not too long after, the two of us hung up and I went through the rest of my day just feeling really great. Maybe a little _too_ great. I chatted with some of my online friends and, still feeling incredibly overconfident, said some things that may have rubbed some of the the wrong way. Yet, I thought nothing of it. I instead embraced my new, abrasive attitude all the way until I eventually went to bed that night.  
  
  
My room was feeling a bit more cramped the next morning. After being on the computer for so long the previous day, I was a bit more eager to go outside. It was a fairly nice, partly cloudy day out. I slipped back into my swim trunks, taking a moment to once again enjoy what I was seeing in the mirror. My physique seemed to have chiseled itself into stone – pun very intended. I didn't notice any more new muscle growth, which I found pretty fortunate. My look seemed to be... 'just right.' Of course, it didn't help to settle down my ego any as I posed and showed off in front of the mirror.  
  
I then grabbed a fresh towel, not bothering to take a shirt, and decided to go to the pool - one of my most favorite things to do. I set down my towel on one of the outdoor tables and slipped off my sandals before hopping right into the warm water.  
  
Not long after I began to do some idle laps around the water, a young woman with long, blonde hair showed up all by herself. I'd never seen her before, so I assumed she was visiting a friend or maybe even a tourist. I watched her intently from afar as she, too, set her things down. From beneath the water, a sly smirk spread across my lips. If she _was_ visiting, I thought about the kind of memories I could send her home with – ones she'd certainly never forget.  
  
I casually drifted around the surface of the water and watched her like a hawk. She walked away and began to shower herself off before getting into the pool. I slowly sighed as she ran a hand through her long hair. She soaked every inch of her lovely, curvy body and the orange two-piece she was wearing before heading to the steps at the shallow end.  
  
  
She calmly slipped into the water, gentle ripples resounding from her as she swam closer to where I was. Since I was at the shallower end of the long point in the 'L'-shaped pool, I stood up tall and just kind of casually stretched and flexed out my muscles for her. I knew that she couldn't resist the charm of a good-looking guy with a great, big smile like the one I had just from looking at her. To my surprise, she just kind of gave me a casual glance, quirked an eyebrow and then kept on swimming by.  
  
I was a bit crestfallen, but I quickly shook it off. She was probably just shy; intimidated by my incredible physique. After all, if she was shy that just meant there was more to teach her about what she's been missing out on.  
  
She came to a stop along the same wall I was on, pretty close by. I held back a chuckle – I knew she couldn't resist me, of course.  
  
"Hey," I said to her with a confident smirk and a reverse nod - that usual quick lift of the chin that guys usually did to greet each other.  
  
"Uh, ... hey," she greeted me back with some confusion. She didn't seem terribly interested in my presence or what I had to say, but I knew she was just playing hard-to-get. After all, what fun is the finish line without the chase beforehand?  
  
  
She took some deep breaths and slowly exhaled each one, readying herself for a swim down the long stretch of the pool. At the same time, I decided to slowly close the gap between us. It gave me a better look at her – and she was cute. I was feeling cocky enough that I didn't need to freeze time or make use of any of the other powers I'd developed to try to charm her. Instead, just as she was about to kick off from the wall, I let my hand slowly travel up the outside of her thigh.  
  
Needless to say, she was pretty shocked.  
  
She gasped loudly and turned to me with an outraged expression.  
  
" **You creep!** " she shouted before slapping me hard across the face.  
  
Needless to say, that hurt.  
  
She must've felt pretty satisfied with that hit, because she then humphed and began to swim her laps. I held my cheek and groaned. It'd been a while, so I'd forgotten how hard girls can hit. I flexed my jaw around and began to walk away with a confused look in my eyes.  
  
This wasn't me. I wasn't like some womanizer that just walked up to girls and put my hands all over them. I mean, in a perfect world I'd be able to just do that and get away with it as I pleased, but that's not how things worked. That's not how **I** worked. Realizing what an ass I'd just been, I decided it was time to go home.  
  
  
I spent the rest of the day just kind of going through the motions - chatting with friends, hanging out in a chat room and saying maybe one or two things. I was very preoccupied with my thoughts. Had I really become such an arrogant jerk just because I scored with Natalie? Or was it maybe the amalgamation of everything that'd happened to me over the past week? It certainly was a hell of a week. I found out I had not one, but several inexplicable superpowers, fought and won against the guy that'd been an asshole to me for years and, of course, had sex with a few different girls that I'd absolutely been fawning over for months.  
  
But, with the others, there was always some kind of bonding there. I felt warmer with them, closer to them, much more friendly with them. I'd even befriended Eve before we went all the way, and actually got on good terms with Jennifer and Lila – both of whom I'd been convinced hated my guts. With Natalie, it was so much more different. There was no emotion there; it was just sex and nothing more. I thought, perhaps, that I would've been cool with that and brushed it aside.  
  
Maybe it affected me more than I realized.  
  
What I didn't realize was that, despite my cool new powers, I was still just a teenager. It was my youthful inexperience with sex and the **opposite** sex that left me feeling a bit out of sorts about the whole situation. Part of me had actually wanted to spend that extra time with Natalie, hold her a little bit, talk to her about how she felt. Instead, we just kind of threw jokes at each other and swept it under the rug.  
  
I figured I'd just have to give it time.  
  
With a sharp sigh, I went back to my usual rhythm. All the while, I tried not to worry about that girl from the pool possibly calling the police to report me for assaulting her. **That** wouldn't have been fun.  
  
  
The next morning, I was feeling the hangover of the guilt trip I was on yesterday. I didn't flex my muscles in the mirror for once, instead just getting myself dressed and out the door like some normal, non-douchey person would. I was quieter than usual on my walk to the bus stop and the ride to school. I felt as though I was going through another epiphany about myself. I wanted to embrace who I was. I didn't want to become some boisterous, showboating dick like Jason. That was certainly a one-way ticket to knocking people down in the hallway and using my time freezing to steal money out of peoples' pockets.  
  
Well, at least I'd imagine it was.  
  
By the time I made it to first period, I was feeling a little more relaxed – more like myself. I just sat down and did my work like a good student. I think my friends had noticed how quiet I'd been during our usual morning chat, though they didn't press the issue any. Due to my faraway mindset, I completely neglected a very enthralling fact until our teacher mentioned it.  
  
"... Winter break..." were the only words of his that permeated my preoccupied mind. My eyes lit up. It was the last week of school before we got a nice, long break for holidays and the start of the new year. What a great feeling that was, enough to put me more at ease.  
  
Sure I'd just had the weekend, but maybe a couple weeks off from school was what I really needed. It'd give me time to come to terms with everything that's happened over the past week and center myself.  
  
  
That Monday was an early release day and so, we'd only be doing our first three periods before the day was finished. It was just as welcome as the prospect of winter break. More time to myself to relax seemed like a good thing at that point.  
  
Class let out and it was time for second period. I headed right next door and took my usual seat. With my utensils out and ready to go, Tamara walked up to me with that beautiful smile of hers – which was more giddy than usual for some reason.  
  
"Hey, Anthony," she happily said.  
  
"Hey," I replied back, finding her smile to be infectious. She was just what I needed to brighten up my day. "You seem really happy. What's up?"  
  
"Well," she said as she spun her backpack around and began to rummage through it, "I'm having my birthday party on the 2nd–" she then placed a paper down on my desk, "–and you're invited."  
  
I was very pleasantly surprised - stunned, even. It was the first time in quite some time that I'd received an invitation to someone's birthday party like that.  
  
  
"Wow," I remarked as I held the printed paper and scanned over it. "Well, sure, I'll be there. What do you want for your present?" I asked with a sly smirk. She laughed in response.  
  
"Whatever you get me is fine – even if it's nothing at all. I just want you to be there. In fact...," she then leaned in toward me and whispered, "don't tell anyone, but you're my _special_ guest."  
  
As she pulled away, I drew my fingers across my lips as if to zip them shut. She grinned and laughed once again.  
  
"Oh, and one more thing," she said, hesitating for a brief moment. "Latisha is going to be there."  
  
I had to think about that name for a moment before it dawned on me. That was when my heart sank.  
  
"Wait, do you mean eighth grade Shop class, screams louder than anyone I've ever met, hated me with a passion Latisha?"  
  
Tamara looked a bit more nervous.  
  
"Oh, I hope it's not a problem. She's one of my oldest friends and... well, maybe she's forgotten about that thing about the lizard in her backpack?"  
  
"Well, miracles **do** happen," I said with a slight shrug. "But, Latisha or no Latisha, I'll still be there." Her eyes lit up with joy.  
  
"Thank you **so** much, I'm so excited!" She gave me a very happy hug, allowing me to very briefly soak in the sweet scent of her perfume. She then let go of me and went to take her seat.  
  
Oh, man. I _was_ pretty excited when she first told me about the party. The Latisha aspect, not so much. I sighed and idly gazed at the invitation. 'Pool Party – Bring your swim trunks!' Well, I _did_ like to swim and maybe Tamara was right. Maybe Latisha would forget about the stuff I did to her in the past.  
  
It was just that the girl had a humongous attitude with me when we shared the same class. I just _had_ to get her back somehow. So, I may have caught a lizard and dropped it in her bag during class and zipped it shut. I couldn't help but chuckle and shake my head as I recalled that memory. The image of her throwing the bag to the ground, screaming and jumping around was still pretty funny to me.  
  
  
Algebra class seemed like it came and went that day. I almost felt like the bell to end class rung as soon as it got started. Okay, I'd never be **that** delusional about school but it was just an overall pleasant feeling. I knew exactly where I was going once the period was out. When the bell did ring, I gathered up my belongings and headed off to third period.  
  
"See you later, Anthony!" Tamara said, smiling and cutely waving to me. I smiled and waved back to her.  
  
I did notice, however, that Elizabeta was nowhere in sight. I didn't see - or hear - her at all during class and there was nobody punching my arm on the way out. I shrugged, figuring everyone's gonna be absent from school sometimes.  
  
In Biology, I calmly took my seat, garnering more smiles and waves from my new female friends on the way in. And then, in walked Natalie. She noticed me from across the room, a big grin on her face as she winked to me. She walked down the further aisle from where I sat and took her own seat. Right then, part of me just wanted to quickly freeze time and talk to Natalie about how I felt since we parted ways. I sighed and shook my head, turning my attention to the front of the class.  
  
It was something I was feeling, and so it'd be something that I'd deal with.  
  
Just as the bell rang, in walked Jennifer, as per usual. She walked by and quickly noticed I wasn't ogling or paying attention to her at all. She decided to make her presence known by bumping her ass against my shoulder, jerking me to the side. As she took her seat, I couldn't help but hang my head down and snicker in amusement, trying to hold back a laugh at what she just did. She certainly was something else.  
  
  
It was only when I heard the bell for lunch that I realized how hungry I was. I got up and began to head to the door before the rest of the stampede did, only to be stopped by a familiar voice.  
  
"Hey Anthony, wait," Eve called out to me. I did a one-eighty and indeed waited for her as she got to her feet. "You want to come have lunch with Lila and I?" I looked over and saw Lila smile at me.  
  
"Next time, for sure," I replied, politely declining her invitation. "I'm just ... trying to think some stuff over right now."  
  
"I can totally understand that," she said with a smile. "After all, you have that ... one 'thing' you can do, so I can imagine it's something you have to deal with eventually."  
  
I nodded to her, impressed at how perceptive she was. She then placed a reassuring hand on my arm before I took my leave. Just as I was about to turn the corner into the hallway, I was quickly grabbed and held around the arm by Talia. She looked up at me and giggled, causing me to grin in amusement. Apparently this was the norm for us now, and I was not complaining.  
  
  
After dropping Talia off inside the cafeteria, I went and got my food and sat with my friends. I still wasn't really as chatty and, again, they didn't seem to mind. I was thankful for that, and acquired the nourishment I was seeking from the plate of macaroni and cheese and vegetables I had. I decided to sit around with my friends until the bell rang once more, beckoning us all back to our respective classes. Unsurprisingly, I took my leave from my friends and headed back to Biology.  
  
The rest of class went as smoothly as could be expected. The otherwise tedious work felt easy for some reason. Maybe starting to pay attention in class had somehow made me smarter already. It wasn't long before the bell rang one final time and school was out for the day. I heard a couple of cheers from the other students in class as everyone got to their feet. The teacher quickly reminded us what our homework assignment would be at the same time I was heading out.  
  
"Anthony," Eve said, catching my attention. "Remember, you said lunch next time!"  
  
"I'll be there, promise!" I replied back with a big grin. She quietly laughed and began to talk with Lila. Talia then intercepted my exit with a tight hug around my chest.  
  
"See you on Wednesday," she sweetly said to me before planting a kiss on my cheek.  
  
"Looking forward to it," I said. She then smiled and let go of me, allowing me to take my leave. Out in the hallway, I suddenly felt a sharp kick to my calf that made me yelp in surprise. I turned around and immediately saw Jennifer smirking at me.  
  
"You know," she said, "I expect you to be pissing me off at least once a day. We had an agreement that things weren't going to change, right?"  
  
"It was an off day for me," I explained with a casual shrug. She placed a hand on her hip and humphed in amusement.  
  
"Don't let it happen again," she pointedly said before turning to walk away with a haughty saunter. I smiled as I watched her depart. She somehow knew how to always be so damned enticing, even when she was mad.  
  
"Wow," I heard yet another familiar voice say. I glanced over to see Natalie remarking in awe as she grinned at me. "You certainly are becoming a ladies' man, huh?"  
  
"I try my best," I replied.  
  
"You most **definitely** do," she replied with a chuckle. "I know first-hand." She then waved to me with her fingers before taking her leave. "See you around, big boy."  
  
I shook my head as I parted ways with her. It was certainly a refreshing change to be called 'big' for once.  
  
  
Outside, I made my way onto the bus and found myself sprawling out as usual – I knew I was feeling normal again. After all, I didn't break down and fall to pieces in front of Natalie back there. Everything seemed to be going good again. It was enough to make me take a deep breath and sigh happily. That mess that I'd gone through the previous day was behind me, so I could turn my focus toward what's ahead.  
  
Things only felt better on the walk back home with Sofia. I was more talkative with her than I'd been with my friends all day. That was mainly because I didn't want her to worry about me and think that something's wrong. I held each door open for her along the way, being the courteous, young man that I was. The two of us then got into the elevator together with a nondescript, old man as a third passenger this time.  
  
As the doors closed, I couldn't help but notice Sofia started to nervously chew on her thumbnail. She seemed incredibly deep in thought. She coyly glanced to me and almost immediately dropped her gaze to the floor. It was as though she had something extremely important to say, but just could not let it out. The doors opened upon reaching my floor, and I stepped out.  
  
"See you tomorrow," I said to her.  
  
"Err–oh," she responded. She fidgeted for a brief moment, opening her mouth to speak, but no words came out. The doors began to close and she quickly shot her hand out to force them back open. "Wait!" she exclaimed, catching my attention as well as the old man's. "Umm, ... see you tomorrow, Anthony."  
  
I glanced over at the old man who gruffly sighed and pressed for the doors to close. I couldn't help but feel Sofia was acting a little strangely. Usually she was so candid with me. Yet, in that moment, it was like she was holding back. I shrugged and calmly strode down the hallway back home again.  
  
  
The next morning, I rose and shone nice and early. On my usual trip into the bathroom, I realized I was getting used to my new look. Obviously, I was happy with my body, but what's the point in me fawning all over it? I mean, that's what other people were for. I then got myself dressed, backpack over my shoulders, and out the door for a new day.  
  
After the bus ride to school, I headed onto the grounds where I spotted Eve sitting and reading once again.  
  
"Hey, there," I said with a big grin as I approached her. She looked up at me and smiled.  
  
"Hey!" she responded. I leaned down to share a quick hug with her, receiving a kiss on the cheek as my greeting. "Another great morning, huh?"  
  
"You know it," I replied as I pulled away. She then stared at me with a playful smile as she idly traced a finger around her book.  
  
"I gotta thank you," she spoke up. "For getting my mind off my ex last week."  
  
"You already thanked for me for that."  
  
"Yeah, but now I'm completely over him. I think, if not for you distracting me and showing me such a great time, it probably would've been a lot rougher."  
  
I happily smirked. "As I said before, anything I can do to help."  
  
She chuckled suggestively, "I'll bet." She then took a deep breath and sighed happily. "Well, I don't want to keep you from the rest of your great morning, so... I'll see you around."  
  
"See ya later, Eve."  
  
She kept a smile upon her face as she went back to her book and I took my leave.  
  
  
The rest of my morning was business as usual. I had my breakfast and headed out to chat with my friends. I learned from Nora that Jason had barely spoken to her since the initial fight in the cafeteria. She seemed mildly upset about it, but in my head I was doing a jig hoping that this meant he was shifting away from her. Once the bell rang, it was time for us to go our separate ways and file inside the buildings. Back on the usual school schedule, Tuesday would be an 'even day' as usual.  
  
First up was Algebra. After I had taken my seat, I saw Tamara come in. She smiled at me with a different look in her eyes. It was like a gaze of admiration. She gently brushed her hand over my shoulder as she passed by, and it left me quite intrigued.  
  
I curiously turned around and watched her take her seat. She looked up at me and her lovely smile only got wider as she softly giggled and waved to me. At the risk of sounding obvious, she was acting like a giggly schoolgirl. It was pleasant, but I wondered why she was in such a good mood. All signs pointed to me somehow, but I couldn't figure out why.  
  
We went over some new lessons that took up quite a large amount of time in Algebra. However, that day's _real_ lesson was going to be in Spanish class.  
  
  
I got that weird, buzzing feeling in my head again just as the bell rang to end class. It perked up my senses, but it didn't feel like something necessarily bad was going to happen. Instead, there was something in my head telling me to hurry on over to my next class. I shrugged it off, slung my backpack over my shoulder and headed out.  
  
"See ya, Tamara!" I called out.  
  
"Bye, Anthony!" she sweetly said. "See you tomorrow!"  
  
For the second day in a row, Elizabeta was nowhere to be found. I didn't know whether to be worried or simply chalk it up to coincidence. Maybe she was sick or something. Regardless, that buzzing practically kicked me in the head, urging me on to Spanish class. I sighed, wondering what all the precognitive fuss was about.  
  
And as I stepped through the doorway, it hit me like a ton of bricks.


	11. Ms. Adanna

There before me stood Ms. Adanna. Nothing was wrong with her – in fact, everything was **right**. She looked far more stunning than usual, and that was saying something.  
  
She was wearing a ridiculously gorgeous, casual red maxi dress with a scooping neckline that just seemed tailor-made to show off her cleavage. The red was so striking in a way that made her completely irresistible to look at, contrasting beautifully with her dark brown skin. Her hair was done up in a top-knot bun that looked so perfectly neat. She'd always had a certain varied taste in fashion, but this took the cake. I'd **never** seen her wear something so... _amazing_. It put her curvy figure on display like nobody's business. How she was a teacher and not a model baffled me to no end.  
  
She had me frozen in awe, feeling as though I was melting into a puddle of goo at the very sight of her.  
  
"You okay?" Sarah's voice suddenly permeated my ears as she walked by. I snapped out of my daze and looked to her, noting the amused smile on her face. I didn't know if she was able to tell what I'd been thinking or if she thought I probably just stopped functioning in the middle of walking.  
  
"Yep," I cheerily replied. "As normal as I can be."  
  
She quietly laughed as the two of us took our seats.  
  
"'Normal,'" she said with a grin. "There's nothing 'normal' about you, Anthony."  
  
I mirrored her grin. "You know me better than most, Sarah. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing is totally up to you."  
  
She laughed. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."  
  
Jordan then walked in, continuing her trend of being surprising by playing no practical jokes on me. The two of us kept the same grins on our faces and looked up at her walking by. She glanced at both of us with a curiously quirked eyebrow before taking her seat. She kept unusually quiet, taking her belongings out of her backpack and placing them neatly on her desk. She then gave me one more inquisitive gaze, thoughtfully puckering her lips up and then turning to her notebook.  
  
I was certain she was up to something.  
  
  
Class soon got started and things got interesting. Not with Sarah or Jordan, mind you. Rather, with Ms. Adanna. As she got down to her lesson for the day, she began to write down words upon the whiteboard. It wasn't long before I found myself practically panting like a horny dog whilst watching her ass do that characteristic bounce. Never before had I found myself so unrepentantly turned on by her.  
  
I quickly snapped out of my daze when I realized that I was becoming more interested with keeping the tent pitched in my pants than with actual schoolwork. I huffed sharply, getting down to copying the notes on the board. However, it was harder than I imagined to keep my focus on the text with her right next to it. I ran my hands down my face to get back in the zone but, just a few jotted words in, I was already going back to tracing the curves of her body with my eyes.  
  
I held my head down, closing my eyes and slowly rubbing my brows to relax. That didn't seem to help, as her image still lingered in my mind. So, it was either look up at her or close my eyes and see her anyway. Her unreal beauty was frazzling my mind to a point where I thought I was going to explode. I groaned softly, trying to fight the urges that compelled me to freeze time, run up there, and shred the clothes from her body like a wild animal.  
  
I grit my teeth, the sound of the marker tapping the whiteboard becoming louder. My most primitive instincts were at a painful peak, and it caused my powers to suddenly short-circuit. I groaned as I looked over at the classroom door. I idly realized that time was just blinking on and off rapidly. In the window of the door, something began to take shape that was clad in dark cloth.  
  
Time froze still completely all around me and I saw it perfectly. It was a person.  
  
My eyes widened in fear. Suddenly, time went back to normal as I jolted in my seat and gasped in terror. It was enough to get the whole class to turn to me – including Ms. Adanna.  
  
Damn it. They were all staring at me.  
  
  
I turned to the bulk of the class with a casual chuckle.  
  
"Sorry," I spoke up. "too much caffeine."  
  
I wasn't surprised when I heard most of them snicker and shake their heads at me. That's when Sarah leaned in toward me.  
  
"Very 'normal,' indeed," she whispered.  
  
I just flashed a quick grin to her before turning back to my notebook. I let out a slow, quiet sigh to calm my nerves. I didn't know what the hell I'd just witnessed, but I'd definitely seen a person standing in the hallway. I looked over at the door one more time – it was gone. Maybe paranoia was a new side-effect of these powers I'd developed.  
  
  
  
The strange occurrence helped to keep my mind off of my lustful desires for my teacher, at least for a little while. The bell for lunch felt like a godsend. I got up out of chair, sighing quietly before I headed out into the hallway. Just as I did, I was grabbed around the arm from behind by a gentle hand.  
  
"Hey, wait," Jordan said as I turned to her. "Why don't you come and have lunch with us?"  
  
I was surprised and a bit suspicious. "You're inviting me to lunch for once?"  
  
"Yeah, why not?" she replied with a smile.  
  
"Well, I could imagine this is some kind of practical joke in the making."  
  
"No, we seriously just want you to hang out with us," Sarah replied with an honest look in her eyes.  
  
"Also, you've been acting pretty weird today," Jordan chimed in. "You could totally use some 'girl time' with us."  
  
"Very funny," I said, rolling my eyes. I then sighed and nodded. "All right, I'll join you."  
  
And so, the three of us set out on our merry journey together - off the far-off land of the outdoor tables outside the cafeteria. I suppose I **had** been a little mentally occupied lately. Seeing Ms. Adanna in that mind-blowingly hot dress certainly didn't help my mental state settle down any. Maybe a little 'girl time' is what I needed to calm down and, of course, get in touch with my feminine side.  
  
I just hoped I wasn't going to be bored to death.  
  
  
Outside, it had finally stopped being cloudy and cold. The weather had become _sunny_ and cold for a change. It was nice, though. I looked over at Sarah as we walked out from the metallic awning over the main pathways. I just loved the way her bouncy, light hair glowed in the sunlight. We came upon a table with two-sided benches bolted into it to make a one-piece picnic table.  
  
"This is where you guys usually sit?" I asked as I took a seat.  
  
"Yep," Jordan said as she sat down on the opposite side of the table from me. "It's nice and close to the pizza stand." Jordan then casually held up a folded five-dollar bill for Sarah.  
  
"Oh, it's my turn?" she asked with a smirk. Jordan happily nodded to her. Sarah grinned as she then turned to me. "You want one, too, right?"  
  
"Are you actually paying for me?" I asked.  
  
Sarah replied, "We invited you – it's only right we pay for lunch."  
  
"That's nice of you," I said with a smile. "Sure, I'll have something different than the standard cafeteria fare."  
  
Sarah quietly laughed and then walked off to go get us all some food.  
  
  
Jordan eyed her carefully for a moment before quickly turning back to me.  
  
"Okay, she's gone now," she remarked, leaving me confused. "I wanted to talk to you about something."  
  
"... All right, shoot," I cautiously replied.  
  
"I guess I could've been a little more gentle about this, but ... you, uh, know that Sarah has a boyfriend, right?"  
  
Considering the unnecessary hit I took straight to the emotions with Natalie the other day, hearing that my teeny-tiny crush was already taken wasn't the kind of news I wanted to hear. Regardless, I took a deep breath and nodded as I sighed. I suddenly realized why Jordan had acted so strangely at the beginning of class. Her looking at the two of us like that made a lot more sense now.  
  
"That's fine," I replied. "Like I said, I didn't really have a crush on her anyway."  
  
"Oh, come on, now," she said as she reassuringly touched my hand. "You can let the tears spill in front of me. This _is_ 'girl time,' remember?"  
  
"You're so adorable, I could just pinch your cheeks." I reached up to her face, intent on doing so. She leaned away, swatting my hand a few times as we both laughed. "Well, it happens, you know? And good for them, really. Besides, Sarah and I can still have other things in common that don't necessitate a relationship."  
  
Jordan thought about what I said for a moment, and I saw when the light bulb went off over her head.  
  
"Ohhh, **I** see how it is...," she suggestively remarked. "You're interested a more 'physical' relationship than an emotional one."  
  
"Well ... there's nothing wrong with that, right?" I asked, my demeanor a mix of both suave and genuinely curious. After all, she _was_ a girl herself. A little insight into the opposite sex was something I could always use.  
  
"Yeah, most of the time, I suppose," she said with a shrug. "You should be careful, though. Some girls might take that the wrong way and think you're more into them than you really are."  
  
"Maybe so," I remarked, thinking about that for a moment. It hadn't happened to me thus far. Keeping things casual and fun seemed to always do the trick. Maybe I'd just gotten lucky, and not just in the physical sense.  
  
  
"But seriously, Anthony, I know you liked her," Jordan softly said, her tone a little more serious. "you can't just switch your emotions off and on like a light."  
  
I sighed heavily and nodded. "I did, but ... it doesn't sting that badly. After all, we were never serious and she always took my 'flirting' as nothing more than me being cute. She's a good friend, and I know we still have that."  
  
Jordan warmly smiled. "Good call. You're a lot stronger than I would be in that situation." She sighed dreamily as she folded her hands under her chin. "Still, the two of you would've been so cute together. You look so similar. **And** I could've felt like I got to play matchmaker with you two, as well."  
  
I laughed at the very idea of Jordan acting as Cupid. "Uhh, I'd like to think that personalities matter a lot more in a good relationship rather than looks. I mean, you and **I** have more in common than Sarah and I do."  
  
"Oh, yeah right!" she laughed.  
  
"It's true!" I exclaimed. "We're both jokey, both pretty short and we both like to talk – a lot." She smirked and shrugged, unable to argue with that. "Just 'cause Sarah and I look similar doesn't automatically make us... 'soul mates.' What's on the outside doesn't matter, it's the inside that counts."  
  
"That's very deep of you, Anthony," she replied, pretending to sniffle and wipe a tear from her eye. "Jeez, it's... it's so deep I think I might just cry!"  
  
I grinned in amusement. "All right. That's enough out of you."  
  
"You're moving me to tears over here! My eyes are just filled up right now!"  
  
"Okay, big baby," I reached over and patted her shoulder while she mock wept into her hands.  
  
  
I then noticed Sarah coming back to the table, skillfully balancing three paper plates on her hands and forearm. She had a sweet smile upon her face, one that always seemed to get me and found quite infectious.  
  
"Here we go," she happily said as she slid the plates in front of us. "Pizza for everybody."  
  
"Looks good," Jordan said, before cheekily adding, " _way_ better than cafeteria food, I bet."  
  
"You'd be surprised," I replied with a smirk. "You don't know what you're missing out on."  
  
After having just talked about 'physical' relationships, my words had an unexpected double meaning that caused both Jordan and myself to look over at Sarah. She was busy taking off her glasses and setting them on the table. She then picked up her slice of pizza, none the wiser to what I said. It went right over her head and the two of us shrugged almost in unison. The three of us then decided to dig in.  
  
  
After lunch, the three of us sat around gabbing like girls usually do. I had to admit, it was fun hanging out with them for a while and just getting to chew the fat about nothing important. Of course, they had their own little inside references that best friends usually do. I found it enjoyable to feel like I was part of their little duet. They were certainly very close and I could only imagine that anything that happened to one of them would quickly get back to the other.  
  
The bell rung shortly after, sucking us all back into the buildings like a black hole. The three of us took our seats in class once more and, after getting a bit closer to Sarah and Jordan, I could only hope that meant the practical jokes would at least take a hiatus. Ms. Adanna got up from her seat and began to address the class. Looking at her, I was suddenly reminded of everything that happened before the bell to lunch rang. I quietly sighed and kept my nose in my notebook, taking down notes as she spoke to us.  
  
  
Her voice was just as easy on the ears as her body was on the eyes. I tried not to think about that, focusing all my attention into my work. Just then, I spontaneously envisioned Ms. Adanna's face contorted into an expression of pained pleasure and heard her in my mind cry out in lust.  
  
' _Ohh!_ ' she exclaimed.  
  
Oh, dear god. That was very hot.  
  
My neck pulled back as I felt the blood rush from my head to my penis. I was suddenly unable to get the image of her naked body, sweaty and panting in ecstasy amongst a smoky, red-lit background out of my head. I envisioned myself fucking her relentlessly, hearing her voice - high-pitched with lust - crying out to me.  
  
' _Oh, yes, Anthony! Fuck me!_ '  
  
And suddenly I was as hard as I was going to get.  
  
I pressed my fingertips into my forehead, slowly shaking my head back and forth as I tried to rid the extremely sexy image from my mind. I inhaled deeply through my nose and—  
  
' _Fuck, yes!_ _ **Oh!**_ '  
  
Well, that did it – I wasn't going to win against my deep-seated urges. I dropped my pen onto my notebook and gave up trying to fight it any longer. It just wasn't happening. There was no getting around the increasingly powerful lust I had for Ms. Adanna's delectable body. I wanted her **so** badly—more than ever before. I could've probably excused myself to the bathroom to jerk one out, but ... there was still those awesome powers I had to consider.  
  
The time freeze, enhanced by my new confidence, hadn't failed me yet in terms of making my fantasies come true. But this _was_ my teacher, not one of my equally hormone-charged peers. I wanted to make her mine so badly ... but what if something backfired on me and makes things absolutely horrible between us?  
  
Like I'd said before, there was always only one way to find out. I couldn't help myself at that point – I just **had** to go for it.  
  
Fueled by my hormones, and the aching, burning lust I had for her, I blinked and suddenly everything came to a stop. Ms. Adanna and the whiteboard remained tangible so as not to suddenly startle her. I didn't hesitate for a second before I got to my feet, and then calmly walked up to her.  
  
In the silence, she sensed that I was behind her and casually turned her head.  
  
"Do you need something, Anthony?" she quietly asked.  
  
"Not really," I replied with a shrug and a casual smile.  
  
"Oh," she responded with some confusion. "Well, I'm in the middle of this lesson. Could you go back and take your seat?"  
  
"I would," I spoke as I pointed toward the other students, "but I don't think the rest of the class is paying attention."  
  
"What do you mean by..." she trailed off once she began to take in her silent, inanimate surroundings. "... that?"  
  
  
She curiously walked up to one of the students in the front row. I folded my arms, leaning casually against the whiteboard with a light smile as I watched her.  
  
"Steven?" she asked, waving a hand in front of his face. She then touched his face and gasped, looking to me with an expression of pure shock. "He's ... like a statue!" She then quickly looked around the rest of the room. "But what–what's happening? I don't understand! Is this some kind of prank?" She looked visibly fearful, panting nervously as she turned to me once again.  
  
I continued to smile as I walked up to her.  
  
"It's not a prank," I calmly explained. "It's just ... something I can do."  
  
Her eyes were still wide in shock. "Something you can do? What does that mean?"  
  
"I can freeze time," I replied as I picked up my pen and tossed it into the air. In the literal blink of an eye, the pen came to a mid-air stop and left Ms. Adanna in awe. I then chuckled softly and allowed the pen to drop into my hand, placing it back on my desk. "It's a crazy power I have that just kind of came out of nowhere. Isn't it exciting?"  
  
"No!" she fearfully exclaimed, surprising me. "I ... I'm sorry, I ... this is all so much to process at once. Can't you just un-power this somehow?"  
  
"Of course I can," I reassuringly replied. "We're totally safe here, I promise."  
  
"I believe you," she replied with a shaky nod. "It's just ... this is all really overwhelming. I don't know if I should be trying to wake up right now," she added with a nervous chuckle. She then began to walk back over to the whiteboard in the hopes that I would resume time.  
  
"Wait," I said, bringing her to a halt as she turned to me. "First, I think there's something that you should know."  
  
"What's that?" she asked with some nervousness, as though there was going to be a problem.  
  
I took a deep breath and sighed, nodding to myself. Like I said ... there was only one way to find out. In that moment of confidence, I walked up to her and gently put my arms around her back, much to her surprise.  
  
  
"I think you're the most gorgeous, most amazing teacher I've ever had," I calmly said to my stunned teacher. "I did this because I wanted the chance to experience the excitement of sharing this freedom with you, getting away with doing things we couldn't normally do together – certainly not in class. We can do **anything** we want here and nobody will ever have to know. What I'm saying ... is we have total sexual freedom here, Ms. Adanna. I've been attracted to you since day one and now that we have the chance, I want you **so** badly. I have to know what it's like to take you. ... What do you say?"  
  
Despite her wonderfully dark skin, I could swear I saw her blush from my very bold, very upfront confession. She took a soft breath and glanced to the side for a moment.  
  
"I don't, uh ..." she trailed off before shaking her head and roughly pulling away from me. "No," she firmly stated. "I can't believe you could think of such a thing right now. ... Please, go back to your seat now."  
  
Her denial was jarring and left me incredibly crestfallen as she walked back over to the whiteboard. She picked up the marker again with a trembling hand and began to continue writing. That's when it dawned on me — I wasn't going to just get my way just because I had some superpower. It caused me to feel foolishly naive.  
  
  
I swallowed the lump in my throat, getting the sense that I had just made things absolutely horrible between us – just like I'd feared. I only hoped that she didn't completely hate me after all of that. I sighed quietly, slipping back into my seat and noticing that she had stopped writing. I was about to tell her how to set the board back up before time resumed, when she caught me completely off-guard.  
  
" **Wait,** " she firmly spoke up once again, surprising me. She bit her lip as she tilted her head to the side just enough to see me out of the corner of her eye. "On second thought..." she quietly added, placing the marker back down and turning to me. She then glanced around the classroom, making sure that everyone was still immobile. She closed her eyes and held a hand to her chest to still her heart before slowly exhaling. When she opened her eyes again, she looked at me with a big smile.  
  
"Maybe ... there _is_ something exciting about this..." she quietly said.  
  
My eyes widened in shock and excitement as she began to slowly walk up to me. At the same time, she casually grabbed the hem of her top and pulled it up over her head before discarding it to the floor, seemingly without a care in the world.  
  
I suppose there was always the chance that things would work themselves out in the end.  
  
  
"Oh, wow," I uttered, turning in my seat to face her with my jaw firmly planted on the floor. She smiled and reached behind her to unhook her bra.  
  
"Sometimes it's nice to have a break from the monotony..." she remarked in a sultry tone, tossing the bra aside. She slowly stretched her arms high, allowing me a good look at her breasts. They were shaped so nicely, like they would fit perfectly in my hands. From there, she undid the knot in the back of her dress and let it fall to expose her long legs.  
  
"Ohh, wow!" I repeated in disbelief at how amazing the sight of her undressing for me was.  
  
"This is what you want, isn't it?" she inquisitively asked as she then turned her back to me, bending over. She took the hem of her tight, black panties and began to slowly pull it down her legs. My jaw nearly unhinged in awe at the sight of her folds neatly-tucked between the minute, little curve in her thighs. It was a sight powerful enough to get me drooling. She then drew a slow hand up the back of her thigh as she stood up. She calmly stepped out of her clothes and gently kicked them aside before turning to face me, standing before me in all her glory.  
  
"... Wow..." was all I could manage to say.  
  
She seemed a bit nervous, but I couldn't tell at the time. My eyes were too busy drinking in the sight of her amazing body.  
  
  
"Now then," she whispered as she leaned down to me, "let's see about getting rid of **your** clothes."  
  
I was more than happy to get my old rags off in the blink of an eye, but she seemed very eager to do it for me. She kept a warm smile upon her face as she tugged my shirt up and off my body. She then tossed it over her shoulder, smiling wider as she let her soft hands move slowly up and down my chest and belly.  
  
"So handsome...," she whispered in intrigue. She rested a hand on my shoulder while the other traveled up my neck and came to a stop upon my cheek. She gazed deeply into my eyes for a moment, and I did the same. Her green eyes calmly shuffled back and forth between my brown ones, almost like we were gazing upon something far more enticing beyond our eyes. It felt comfortable and relaxing. I couldn't believe how warm and safe I felt being with her. Nothing else in the world mattered to me then besides her.  
  
  
And then, with a soft sigh, she calmly leaned in and slipped her red, plush lips over my own. Her kiss felt so nice, amplifying the sense of warmth between us. Her plush lips gently dug into mine, kissing each other with a very mutually hungry passion. It was enough to tell me that I wasn't the only one that had fantasized about doing this.  
  
Her lips softly pulled away from me. Our low hanging eyes gazed into each other once more, sharing each others' breath in a moment of serenity. Inhaling and exhaling to each other, our breath spoke a language that told me everything about this was so very right. I knew that she, too, could hear it loud and clear.  
  
"So _very_ handsome..." she intimately whispered, causing me to shudder in pleasure. Her lips then mingled with my own very briefly before she began to make her journey downward.  
  
She placed gentle kisses down my neck, to my chest, my belly – never stopping on one place. She then undid my pants, pulling them down together with my boxers. She gasped softly at the sight of my fully erect member, smirking at me as she took it firmly in her hand. I groaned deeply in pleasure.  
  
"I shouldn't have been so insistent," I quietly said. "I should've known better than to dump all my feelings out on you like this..."  
  
"It's okay," she whispered. "I **want** this..."  
  
Without hesitating a second longer, her plush lips began to slide down my length and my toes simultaneously began to curl. She uttered a soft moan onto my hot, sensitive flesh. Her head bobbed up and down, leaving me euphoric at just the very sight of it - let alone how incredible it felt. Her wonderfully smooth tongue rolled and wrapped around me, all while firmly sucking me with a surprising eagerness.  
  
Her head tilted down more intently. Suddenly, her lips were digging around in my pubic hair. She started to take every inch of me into her warm mouth, letting me slide down some of her throat. It felt surreal. I could've sworn I was dreaming with how good it was. I groaned and sighed from the heavenly repetition, leaning back in my seat and letting her do all the work. It was the first time I'd let my partner take the reigns and dictate the pace — and I was **not** complaining.  
  
My teacher, Ms. Adanna, adamantly bobbing her head up and down my cock — what a sight it was to behold. I listened to her lovely lips popping as they wrapped tightly around my glistening length. The sound of her throat being invaded over and over again was unlike anything I'd heard.  
  
After a few moments of that amazing pleasure, she took me out from her mouth. She held it upright and immediately began to draw her tongue up and down, sighing amorously.  
  
I then learned how experienced she was as she began to rapidly flick her tongue upon the cleft of my rock-hard head. I couldn't believe what she was doing, how simple it was, and yet how intense it felt when she did it. She amplified my pleasure by slipping her lips over my head, sucking and slurping upon it while her skilled tongue worked to pleasure me in a way I'd never felt before. She brought it even further by bringing a hand up to tightly stroke my length. By then, I was having trouble trying to hold back. She was absolutely amazing.  
  
Ms. Adanna removed me from her mouth and immediately went down to lick and suck on my balls. Her mouth acted like a ball wash as she slowly moved back and forth between them. All the while, her warm hand relentlessly jerked me from hilt to tip – her perfectly manicured nails getting washed over with her own saliva. I let my head tilt back to savor the moment.  
  
Not long after, she held me upright with one hand and began to blow me — literally. She blew cool air onto my otherwise red-hot flesh and it caused me to watch her in amazement once more. She continued at it for just a moment before then sucking me back into her mouth. That heat was absolutely wondrous – and she was sucking it hard. My toes were curling nonstop with each blissful dip of her head and each wonderful pop and slurp of her lips. She was making it unbelievably hard for me not to burst within her mouth. Yet, somehow I stayed in it and rode out the incredible pleasure.  
  
She repeated the process, blowing cool air upon me. My jaw hung, groaning lustfully, watching what she was doing. Her lips spread into a big grin as she watched my reactions. She then got a kick out of my intensely ecstatic groan when she sucked me back into the heaven that became her mouth. She happily resumed bobbing her head up and down my lightning rod of pleasure.  
  
I always knew she was incredible. This merely proved it.  
  
  
With a lustful sigh, she withdrew me from her mouth once more. She then looked up at me, grinning, using my thighs for support as she got to her feet.  
  
"I think it's time **I** had a turn to enjoy myself...," Ms. Adanna purred, coaxing my mesmerized self to my feet in a heartbeat with no more than a single finger in a 'come here' motion. I eagerly stepped out of my pants, my shoes going with them, while she wrapped her arms gently around my neck. I then looked into her eyes, slowly letting my arms furl around her back. She smiled again, our bodies pressed firmly against each other close enough to have my pulsing shaft resting on her warm belly. I continued to be entranced by the sultry look in her eyes and the musk of her more 'grown up' perfume as compared to what the girls in school usually wore. She gently exhaled as she dipped forward and engaged us in another elating kiss.  
  
Of course, there was no way my hands could possibly keep still for long – not with her. I firmly ran my fingertips up to her shoulder and then down her back again, listening to her moan softly in response. I then crept up and down her sides, not giving any attention to her more delicate areas to enhance the anticipation and the satisfaction for us both.  
  
Our lips slowly peeled away from each other. I found myself gazing for a moment in her eyes before letting my gaze slowly drop down the curvature of her lovely proportions. I was so drawn into her beauty like a moth to a flame. She was so gorgeous that I was more than willing to overlook the fact that she stood a couple inches taller than me.  
  
  
"Do you like my body?" she amorously asked. "Hmm...?"  
  
"I like everything about you, Ms. Adanna," I softly replied. "Every single little detail about you. Your hair, your makeup, your clothes, _and_ your amazing body. ... You're always so perfect."  
  
"I'm glad I could turn you on, then..."  
  
I gently shook my head. "You do more than turn me on – you inspire me..."  
  
The look in her eyes was genuinely touched by my words. She reached up and gently touched my cheek with an elated smile upon her face.  
  
"That's very sweet of you to say," she whispered.  
  
"You're my most favorite teacher, Ms. Adanna..."  
  
"And you're my my favorite student."  
  
"Really?" I asked in genuine surprise. I'd have always figured she saw me as a class clown and a slacker.  
  
"I always found a sweet charm in you. I've watched the way you interact with your fellow students and I've caught you staring at me more than you realize." Her lips then curled into a big, embarrassed grin. "I ... I may have fantasized about doing this with you, maybe once or twice..."  
  
Just hearing her admit that put a huge smile on my face. The two of us then shared a brief, warm kiss before I began to take my turn to explore _her_ body.  
  
  
I trailed kisses down Ms. Adanna's chin and to her neck. She sighed happily, her head tilting back, grinning as I slowly licked up and down her neck. I laved over the side, to the front of her neck and then the other side, moving in the same direction. It was almost like I was painting her warm skin with my saliva. At the same time, her hands gently stroked the back of my neck and head. She was enjoying it as much as I was.  
  
I then pulled away, letting my eyes wander down the front of her bare body. I hungrily took her in with my eyes, my hands slowly exploring her magnificent body; admiring the perfection of her dark skin. I'd never encountered a body so matured, so filled out as hers before. It was very elating.  
  
My hands traveled up her chest, taking hold of her firm, beautifully rounded breasts. She moaned softly, watching me with intrigue. I pushed them together, squeezing them firmly, kneading them in my hands. They indeed fit perfectly in my grip, just as I'd hoped. She seemed to pull my head in closer at the same time I leaned in to eagerly suck on one of her nipples. I wrapped my arms around her back once more, pulling her closer as I hungrily licked and drooled all over her hardened, ebony peak.  
  
  
The scent of her breasts was just amazing – warm, soothing, inviting. It made me feel like I was right where I was meant to be. Her touch continued to elate me and coax me onward by stroking my head and my upper back. I listened to her purring softly in pleasure, enhancing the desire inside of me by overtaking all of my senses. I circled my tongue around her areola, tasting some of the flesh outside of it as well, barely feeling the tiny hairs on her breast against the tip of my tongue.  
  
I then eagerly moved to the other breast to give it the same attention. At the same time, while she moaned happily in response, I turned my attention to Ms. Adanna's firm, bulbous derriere that taunted me for months on end. I reached down, grabbing her ass tightly in both hands and then giving it a stiff spank. She moaned loudly, seemingly very receptive to it.  
  
I decided to follow up, curious from her response. I kneaded fistfuls of as much of her gorgeous ass as I could for a moment while sucking hard on her nipple. The volume of her voice in lust began to increase. I pulled back with both hands, giving her another firm, two-handed spank that reverberated loudly around the silent room. She jerked her head back and moaned more lustfully than before.  
  
" _Ohh_ , yes..." she uttered. "Oh, Anthony..."  
  
I felt her body quickly getting hotter and more excited.  
  
I then brought my face back up to her neck, amorously licking and panting into it. I, too, was getting much hotter in response to her building lust. I spanked her, again and again, listening to her moan with such gratification each time. I wanted to turn her on as much as she had done for me, and I'd finally found her weakness.  
  
  
After a few moments of her enjoyment of my spanking, she lifted my face to hers and planted another deep kiss upon my lips. She soon pulled away and took me by the hand, leading me just a few feet away to the front of my desk. There, she placed her hands on the desk and bent over in front of me, letting me get a good look at her enticing, visibly wet pussy. She seemed just as eager as I was – maybe even more so.  
  
I wasn't sure exactly what she wanted me to do next. I decided to continue on the anticipation route, figuring it would only make the culmination of our two bodies that much more satisfying. I got down on one knee, grabbing the backs of Ms. Adanna's thighs. It was the first time I'd seen a grown woman's labia that wasn't in a picture on my computer screen.  
  
I then spread her thin, slippery folds out with my thumbs, my jaw hanging as I gazed upon the beautiful, pink walls within. Ignoring the amazement that I was staring down the inner walls of my teacher's vagina, I leaned in and took a long lick upon them. I felt the muscles in her thighs momentarily flinch at that first taste, followed by the sound of a deep sigh of pleasure from her. I moaned quietly, entranced by her sex, avidly licking around inside of her. It tasted so good and carried such a wonderful scent. My head moved around while circling my tongue around inside her folds. I didn't want to stop, and neither did she.  
  
  
I soon pulled back, gazing upon her erect clit poking out like a glistening, pink jewel. I felt my mouth water at the very sight of it. I clasped my lips around it, licking and sucking hard. She panted heavily and moaned loudly, her head tilted back to the ceiling. I relentlessly kept at it, amplifying her pleasure by giving her a few, hard spanks. Each one drew louder, more gratified moans of lust from the depths of her throat.  
  
Ms. Adanna's voice, her taste, her scent – it all quickly became too much for me to handle. I became extremely restless, like a mindlessly horny animal presented with his mate in heat before him. I licked around inside of her for one last, very brief moment before quickly getting back up to my feet. While she panted and reeled from the lingering pleasure, I was holding her hips steady with one hand while pushing down my very excited cock with the other.  
  
I then began to easily push inside of her heat, both of us moaning in response as I experienced the first moment of actually being inside of Ms. Adanna. And she was wonderful to be inside.  
  
I felt my toes curl once again as her slippery walls clamped down upon me. I pushed all the way to the hilt inside of her, groaning loudly in awe with my hips pressed against her warm, gorgeous ass. I immediately began to pull and push my hips into a smooth rhythm. As she panted and moaned in time with my thrusts, I hunched over, placing my hands on the desk next to her own. She looked over and welcomed me being inside of her body with another deep, intimate kiss; shoving her lips into my own as our bodies gently rocked in harmony.  
  
Everything about the miracle of being able to go all the way with my hot teacher was more than I could've ever hoped it would be. By then, I was running purely on adrenaline and excitement. Our lips ardently mingled together, reflecting on how eager and into it she was. I was in a state of constant blissful disbelief at my sheer luck. Her hot muscles clasping down upon my aching shaft as I plunged into her amazing body made me feel like I'd won the lottery.  
  
Our lips parted before I stood up tall, holding onto her broad hips and focusing solely on plunging ecstatically into my teacher's hot muscles. With our bodies more acquainted, I began to push myself harder and deeper into her. She deeply groaned in content as she felt me excitedly split her walls apart over and over again. She started to thrust back onto me, deepening our union even further. My first time having sex with an more matured woman older than me was a bliss I could hardly explain, even if just because of how incredible she was to me.  
  
  
I gave her another firm spank with one hand, drawing another ecstatic groan out of her.  
  
"Oohh, yes, baby...," she lustfully remarked. "This feels _wonderful_..."  
  
Funnily enough, the size disparity of myself having sex with a fully-grown woman sort of felt to me like a chihuahua fucking a rottweiler. But even still, she was the hottest rottweiler teacher I could've ever had.  
  
We were already rapidly increasing in temperature when I decided to drill Ms. Adanna even faster. Our bodies started to sweat from head to toe; my skinnier, white thighs very audibly slapping into her thick, matured, dark legs. My mind was torn between letting my head fall back to just drown in our mutual pleasure and gazing down upon her beautiful, bouncing frame. She was panting ecstatically, so very agog for every inward thrust of my hips. She was placed almost strategically in front of her class. It allowed her to gaze over all her students and feel the thrill of their eyes all on her naked body being fucked before them without any of them actually watching her.  
  
I hunched over a bit, grabbing onto her shoulder and began shoving my cock hard into her hot, velvety confines. She dropped her head down once more; belting out deep, guttural moans and ecstatic panting. I spanked her a few more times, every one bringing her – and myself – closer to the apex of pleasure.  
  
She shouted in elation, "Yes, Anthony, yes!!"  
  
I quickly found myself voraciously pounding her wondrous body, balls-deep inside of her. Her fluids dripped continuously down her thighs, her deep moans becoming louder and more intense with each passing second. I panted heavily, trying to keep the intense pace without accidentally blowing my load. She grasped the desk as tightly as she could, trembling incessantly, baring her teeth as her body rocked from my powerful thrusts.  
  
"I'm almost there, Anthony...! Please keep going, ... just like that!"  
  
  
Both of us sweating and panting, I shoved my hand between her thighs to vigorously rub her clit. Her body started convulsing, crying out at the top of her lungs. With one final spank upon her sublime ass, Ms. Adanna finally hit her high and came hard. I was forced out by the intense spasms of her inner walls, forced to watch almost agonizingly as her entire body shook and gushed her warm juices onto the floor.  
  
"Ohh, yess~...!" she giddily moaned as she rode out the shudders of her orgasm. "Ohh, god, yes..."  
  
I waited for a grueling moment for her to come back down to earth. She sighed and panted heavily, her head hanging down for a moment. I then eagerly took my position behind her once again. Before I could continue on, she placed a hand on my thigh to stop me. She surprised me as she calmly stood upright.  
  
"Mmm... let's try a change of pace..." she remarked in a gorgeous, sultry tone of voice that made me even more excited somehow.  
  
  
Ms. Adanna took me by the hand, her hips swaying in the most attractiveness possible as she led me over to her tidy desk. All I could think about was how irresistible she was and how long it would be before I was back inside her. She sat down upon it, smiling warmly at me as she gently rubbed my chest and shoulders. She then pulled me in closer to allow us to share another intimate kiss.  
  
Our lips parted with an audible smack before she spoke. "Have you heard of the g-spot?"  
  
I was very confused. "Is that... a drug or something?"  
  
She quietly laughed. "No, no. Here, I'll show you." She then leaned back upon the desk, spreading her legs open wide. "Put your fingers inside of me." I promptly placed a hand upon the desk beside her to lean on, coming close to her smiling face. She welcomed me by placing a hand gently behind my neck. I lightly grinned back before looking down and placing my other hand between her legs. She gasped softly in pleasure as I slid a couple of fingers into her very wet sex.  
  
"Yes, ... that's good," she quietly spoke. "Now, feel around the top, like you're trying to touch my bellybutton from the inside." I was even more confused, but did as she instructed. She moaned softly as I curiously poked around inside of Ms. Adanna's most personal space as though I was on a scavenger hunt.  
  
  
Just a moment later, I quirked an eyebrow when I hit something small, yet unusually hard – like a bump. Right as I did, she gasped loudly and her legs flinched inward in shock.  
  
She quickly regained her composure and asked, "Did ... you feel that?"  
  
"Seems like _you_ sure did," I joked, getting a small laugh from her. "But yeah, it feels different."  
  
" _That_ would be the g-spot," she explained. "Now, try rubbing it against it with your fingertips."  
  
I again followed her commands, starting off gently at first, just to gauge her reactions. She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying it as much as any clitoris stimulation could feel. I became very interested and rubbed deeper into her spot and the smooth muscle around it. My fingertips raked into her g-spot in a 'come here' sort of motion. She moaned lustfully in response, her head tilting back. Her long legs opened wider, inviting more and more of what I had to offer her.  
  
She uttered a loud, shaky gasp. Her body starting to jerk and writhe blissfully.  
  
"Ooh, rub my clit with your palm..." she moaned. I immediately did as she said, pivoting my palm around her hyper-sensitive bud and hearing her gasp in elation. "Yes, that's it. ... Don't stop..."  
  
Ms. Adanna began excitedly grinding her clit against my palm. Her moans and panting rapidly intensified, her glistening body becoming very animated in response to the increasing pleasure inside her. She looked so irresistibly ravishing in that state, and I couldn't wait to resume the bliss of having sex with her again. She held the back of my neck tightly, the other hand steadying herself on the desk, her legs trembling.  
  
"Oh, yes, Anthony. ... Ohh, god... I'm going to cum..."  
  
Her body snaked up and down, moaning at the top of her lungs once more. She then tensed and groaned loudly in exquisite relief, another gusher of a climax spilling from between her legs. I took my hand out of her, calmly placing it upon the desk at her other side. I then stared so eagerly and intently at her as she moaned and jerked through the aftershocks.  
  
  
I waited with incredible patience for that moment once again when she was finished. When it finally came about, I quickly pulled her body closer, grabbed my painfully aching shaft and stuck myself back inside her with a deep moan of relief. She moaned deeply and loudly as I finally plunged back into her blissful heat. She happily welcomed me back by wrapping both arms around my neck, her legs crossed behind my hips.  
  
Our bodies rocked and slapped together loudly as I picked up nearly where I left off from before. Thrusting around inside of her was so effortless as she was so much more wet than before. Her pussy audibly sucked and squelched around me as I pounded her with the pent-up sexuality from months of having to stare from the sidelines at the hottest damn teacher in the world.  
  
As she moaned and trembled in ecstasy, she affectionately brushed my face and hair with both hands.  
  
"You're the most handsome young man I've ever laid eyes on, Anthony," she amorously admitted.  
  
I breathily replied, "I can't believe this is happening, Ms. Adanna..."  
  
She grinned happily. "You're a treasure of a student to have, Anthony. ... You're the only student ... I've ever done this with. ... And the only one I ever will..."  
  
I couldn't help but grin back at her. "I love being the Teacher's Pet," I remarked.  
  
  
I then ramped up the intensity of my rhythm, drawing sharp moans of satisfaction out of us both.  
  
"Ohh, don't stop," she pleaded. "Mm~, ... the way you make love to me is **so** wonderful..."  
  
I had no problem heeding her call, more than happy to keep exploring the wondrous depths of my beautiful teacher's hot belly. She quickly leaned forward, clasping her open mouth around my own. We moaned lustfully onto each others' mouths, rocking together in desirous ecstasy. As we kissed, she pulled me back with her while she laid back on the table.  
  
Her arms embraced me tightly; one around my neck, the other around my upper back. I quickly followed suit, wrapping my arms around her back and holding her tightly, continuing to mindlessly shove myself in-between her thighs in sheer delight. Panting and moaning together, our faces were mere inches away from each other, gazing amorously into each others' eyes as we shared sexual bliss.  
  
Everything just felt so much more fulfilling being so close to her, like our fates were intertwined, even if just for the short time we spent together. I felt bonded with her in body and in mind. _This_ was the kind of bonding I yearned for. It felt nothing like the sudden, abrupt, hit-and-run sex with Natalie.  
  
  
Ms. Adanna then pulled my head toward her neck. In the midst of her warmth and sweet aroma, I closed my eyes and focused once more on keeping up the intensity of my pounding hips. I was entranced by the endless sound of her voice moaning in splendid bliss beneath me. Her walls sucked and squelched, my hips slapping her thighs hard. Both of us were sweating, panting, groaning in fervent lust from the heat and pleasure we were sharing; the ecstasy we were lost in.  
  
"Oh, yes, Anthony!! You're the most beautiful lover I've ever had!!"  
  
That was all I needed to hear to start shoving into her as hard and as fast as I could. I certainly wasn't lasting much longer at that point. I pulled my head back, a mindless expression of lust on my face as I stared blankly at the ceiling and shoved myself into her for all that I was worth.  
  
"Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes!!" she squealed in delight. "Ohhh! God!!"  
  
"Ms. ... Adanna...!" I breathily exclaimed as the floodgates were about to open. Suddenly, her legs clenched so tightly around me, forbidding me from pulling out all the way.  
  
"Don't pull out," she pleaded. "Please do it inside me. ... It's okay..."  
  
In the heat of my lust-filled daze, I wasn't in the mood to question or object to her request. I was going to cum – now. I was so overwhelmed with elation and pleasure; every last thrust inside of her had been an absolute dream come true.  
  
"Ohh, yeah! Ohh, yeah, Ms. Adanna!!"  
  
I pulled my head completely back, groaning and sighing loudly as I finished off inside of Ms. Adanna — and I had **so** much to give her. I jerked my hips, panting sharply and grunting with each edenic spurt into her. I stared blankly at the ceiling, her sublime heat clamped down around me, milking every last drop of hot seed from me. It was unlike any orgasm I'd ever had. She held me tightly throughout it all, moaning in awe as she felt me filling her womb. When I was finished, I slowly fell atop her with a long groan of satisfaction. She simply kept me safe in her warm embrace, both of us catching our breath as we basked in the afterglow of the amazing experience we just shared.  
  
It was the first time I'd ever ejaculated inside my lover and I could not believe how good that felt. It made the overall experience so much more satisfying. Very quickly, though, I began to regret my decision to follow through on her request.  
  
Both of us were still quite exhausted when I lifted my head up. We stared into each others' eyes for just a moment before I spoke up.  
  
  
"Ms. Adanna. ... Why did you want me to, you know, cum inside of you?"  
  
"Because...," she quietly replied. "Well... It's not possible for me to get pregnant."  
  
I was quite curious. "What do you mean 'not possible?'"  
  
"I... I can't have children."  
  
And, suddenly, very remorseful. "I ... oh. I'm sorry, I didn't know. I shouldn't have asked–"  
  
"Shh...," she shushed me with a finger placed upon my lips. She smiled reassuringly. "It's okay. You had every right to ask. And it's ... something I came to terms with a long time ago." I slowly nodded. "Don't let that change the fact that you and I just shared a very beautiful moment together."  
  
"It _was_ beautiful," I quietly remarked with a smile. " _You're_ beautiful."  
  
"And you're so sweet ... and _so_ wonderful."  
  
The two of us continued to smile at each other while she tenderly brushed my face and my ears. She interspersed that with little fluttering kisses here and there, reassuring me that she was fine and everything would be all right. Eventually, we broke out in a small fit of laughter, overcome by our elation that lingered strongly well after the end of our sexual intimacy.  
  
  
After a couple moments, I then asked, "Won't things be awkward between us now?"  
  
"Why do you think that?"  
  
"Because, you know, ... we just had sex?"  
  
She chuckled softly. "It's only awkward if you think it's awkward," she explained. "If anything, it's merely brought us closer. It's always possible for two people to have sex and still remain friends. I consider you a wonderful student and a very good friend."  
  
"Wow," I remarked in surprise. "I've never been friends with a teacher before. Certainly not **this** kind of friend."  
  
She grinned before leaning in and taking my lips into her own for another deep kiss. I kissed her back with a scintillating passion. I wanted to show her how grateful I was for the time we shared together and to let her know that I certainly appreciated having **her** as a friend.  
  
  
Then, I stood back to allow Ms. Adanna to sit up and stretch a bit. She then chuckled to me before reaching over to a stack of paper towels upon her desk. Seemed like all the teachers had them at the ready. Unsurprisingly, she was unable to grab them.  
  
"Here," I said as I touched the towels to make them tangible again, "let me get that."  
  
"That is truly amazing," she remarked before taking a handful of paper towels. She then looked upon the classroom and added, "I still can't believe this isn't a dream."  
  
"Same here," I said, looking her over as she began to wipe herself down. She looked at me and chuckled.  
  
"Would you be so kind as to get some more paper towels from the bathrooms? I'm probably going to need a number of them after what we just went through."  
  
I grinned and shook my head in amusement. "Sure thing," I replied before heading for the door.  
  
"You're going to go out like _that_?" she asked in surprise.  
  
"Nobody can see me anyway," I replied back while opening the door and turned to her with a smile. "Be right back!"  
  
  
I sighed happily as the door closed behind me. I was about to walk away, but I couldn't help sneaking one last glimpse of Ms. Adanna cleaning herself off from afar. That's when something very strange happened.


	12. Breakup

I narrowed my eyes in confusion, realizing that Ms. Adanna was as frozen in time as anything else around me. I didn't want for that to happen and so I was very confused – and a little scared. I began to worry that perhaps my powers were short-circuiting again somehow.  
  
I reached for the doorknob — it was impossible to move.  
  
"What the hell?" I wondered aloud, trying to will the doorknob to life but it simply would not budge. "Ms. Adanna?" I called out, realizing that she was not budging either. Suddenly, I heard a noise down the end of the hallway. It was enough to send terror down my spine as I panicked that someone had seen me completely naked in school. It was like a nightmare come true.  
  
  
I snapped my head in the direction of the sound, my eyes bulging as I spotted a person at the end of the hall. But it wasn't any student, teacher or faculty member. It was a tall figure clad in black — the very same person I saw through the window of the class door earlier. And the sound ... the sound was that same whispering I heard before. Suddenly I became a lot less nervous, and a lot more curious.  
  
I began to walk toward it, wondering just what in the time-stopped hell was going on here. As I advanced, the figure calmly made a retreat around the corner.  
  
"Hey!" I called out. "Stop!" My demands were ignored.  
  
I quickly ran toward the end of the hall. The whispering became louder and louder, until it overtook my senses. Then, when I turned the corner, the noise instantly stopped. Nobody was there. I stood there for a moment and looked around, stunned and confused. But quickly, I became annoyed. Someone or something was playing me. While I had no idea what kind of entity I was dealing with, I still had the overwhelming urge to knock them senseless.  
  
I took a deep breath and sighed heavily. Everything felt back to normal. Well, as normal as standing in the midst of a completely time-frozen world could be. I made my way into the bathroom, taking the opportunity to clean myself off a bit with flowing water before grabbing a large handful of paper towels from the dispenser.  
  
I made my way back out of the bathroom, taking one last look around the hallway. There was no one in sight. I sighed once more and headed back to class.  
  
  
As I peered in through the window, I saw Ms. Adanna starting to put her clothes back on. It was a sight that brought a smile to my face. Not just because of how hot it was, but also to know that everything was back as it should be. I opened the door, greeted by the grinning face of my teacher.  
  
"I bet that felt liberating to streak down the hallway with no repercussions," she said.  
  
"Yeah," I idly replied as I watched the door close behind me, "something like that." I then handed her the stack of paper towels.  
  
"Thank you," she said before she placed them on her desk to replenish the ones she'd used.  
  
I then picked up my own clothes, completely ignoring the fact that dozens of eyes were on me as I began to dress myself.  
  
"So, now what happens?" she asked as she gently straightened out the bun in her hair.  
  
"You and I take our places we were in when I stopped time," I explained, standing before her. "I start time again, everything's back to normal."  
  
She was surprised by the explanation. "That sounds incredibly simple," she said before smirking suggestively. "You've certainly done this before, haven't you?"  
  
I playfully shrugged my head from side to side. "Maybe," I replied, getting a chuckle out of her. The two of us shared a quick kiss before she turned around to face the board, marker in hand.  
  
Oh, that sight from behind. I couldn't help but get in one more lecherous grab of her wonderful butt through her dress. She playfully laughed before the two of us shared one last kiss.  
  
"Come on," she said as she gently shooed me away. "Back to your seat now, Anthony,"  
  
"Yes, Ms. Adanna," I replied, taking my seat like the very loyal student that I was. "You'll need to erase the last couple sentences, by the way."  
  
"Oh, right," she remarked, laughing as she quickly grabbed the eraser and cleared them off. "Wouldn't want the students to think I'm Superwoman."  
  
"You are to me," I said.  
  
She grinned warmly to me, an expression I happily mirrored. Then, she pressed the tip of the marker to the board. I blinked and suddenly, the ambient noise of class came back to life. Like a gunshot at the start of a race, Ms. Adanna took that as her cue to resume teaching. No one was any the wiser.  
  
Despite the fact that I'd just satisfied and lived out my sexual fantasies with Ms. Adanna, that didn't stop me from going right back to dreamily fawning over her. She'd always turned me on in ways I couldn't believe. But our time together was definitely special. That day, Ms. Adanna taught me a lot more than just Spanish. She proved to me that she was the single most amazing teacher I'd ever had.  
  
  
The rest of class was the more subdued climax of a dream come true. The bell rang to signify the end—a bittersweet finale. As the rest of the students began to file out the door, I walked up to Ms. Adanna to give her an up-close goodbye.  
  
"See you tomorrow," I quietly said.  
  
"I'm looking forward to it, Anthony," she softly replied with a lovely smile. She certainly knew how to make me feel like a million bucks as I grinned and turned to leave class. It was off to my final, 'even day' class: English.  
  
I spent almost the entirety of class trying to stop myself from humming after how happy I was. Okay, so I got a _little_ humming in. Nobody seemed to notice anyway. The teacher was pretty laid back, as per usual, as we continued to read and take notes from our newest novel.  
  
English was always enjoyable. I felt it pleasant to be able to open my vocabulary. Therein, for our home assignment our professor instructed that I was to pen an eloquent dissertation of my starkly insipid life aspirations. Well, I wasn't actually going to be **that** droll. Nor did I want to sound **that** smart. Keeping things simple was how I enjoyed life. I mean, what am I – obtuse?  
  
  
At the end of the school day, I was sliding down the banister of the stairwell. I felt as free-spirited and open as the wind while making my way outside and to the bus. There, I happily sprawled out on my usual seat with a content sigh and not a care in the world. The rest of my fellow passengers also climbed aboard and the bus began to roll away.  
  
Once at my destination, I kicked myself up into a sitting position, grabbed my backpack and headed out. As usual, Sofia's smiling face greeted me when I departed the bus's yellow construct.  
  
"Fancy meeting you here," I playfully said. "You come here often?"  
  
She giggled. "You're funny," she replied as the two of us crossed the street together. "So, do anything interesting today?"  
  
"I guess you could say that," I replied, grinning at her. She smiled happily, turning her attention forward.  
  
"I don't know what it is," she remarked, "but you're seeming more and more like a guy who's a lot of fun."  
  
"That's because I am," I said, posing and flexing for her as we kept on walking. She broke out into a laughter, shaking her head and grinning so wide to make her nose crinkle.  
  
"I really want–" she went to go say something, when suddenly her eyes widened like she remembered something. "Uhm, never mind." She then went awkwardly quiet on the rest of the walk home.  
  
I thought that was a little strange, but once again, I decided not to press the issue. I chivalrously led the way for her until we came to a stop waiting for the elevator to arrive. I looked at her through the mirrored walls beside the elevator. She was turned away, seeming so much more distracted than usual.  
  
  
"Are ... you okay?" I asked in concern.  
  
My question seemed to legitimately take her by surprise. "Oh! Yeah, of course." She gave me a reassuring smile and then, the elevator arrived. We waited for a small group of people to get off before the two of us got in together.  
  
I went to press for both of our floors, but her hand quickly came up, almost to stop me. I figured she just wanted to press the fancy, light-up button herself, but then she quickly pulled back and nervously grinned.  
  
"Sorry," she quietly said.  
  
"It's cool," I nonchalantly replied and pressed for our respective floors. The doors then slid closed. I could not get over how unusually nervous she looked. Maybe she was dreading an upcoming test or maybe something happened in her family she didn't want to talk about. A hundred explanations bouncing in my head later, the doors opened for my floor.  
  
"See you tomorrow, Sofia," I casually said as I departed from her company.  
  
"Yeah, bye," she replied with a gentle finger wave. I smiled and just barely caught her out of the corner of my eye drifting to the side in such a way to watch me as the doors closed. Then, I could've sworn I heard a loud, frustrated sigh from her as the elevator brought her up to the next floor.  
  
Again, she was acting _quite_ strange.  
  
  
That night, after I was done with my homework, I found myself innocently scribbling a small drawing on a blank sheet of paper. I was absolutely crappy as an artist, but that didn't stop me from sketching an image of Ms. Adanna. She'd captivated me so powerfully after the two of us became lovers. Everything about it was more than I could've ever asked for. A slow grin spread across my lips as I started drawing very large, exaggerated breasts upon her chest. I then shook my head and laughed before crumpling it up and tossing it in the trash.  
  
Afterward, I decided to hang out online for a little while. To my surprise, a chat between some of my friends in a chatroom started to drift into their past and present hot teachers. Ohh, the temptation was so very, very high to say something of my intercourse with Ms. Adanna. I wanted to brag about it **so** badly; leave them jealous and awe-struck. Instead, I decided to chime in with my two cents about my proportionate teacher and how she was hotter than any of them could have imagined. Amusingly, I was met with pretty negative replies from the nay-saying peanut gallery. I shook my head and laughed, allowing the topic to die out on its own.  
  
Once I was done and turned off my computer, I took a moment to look out the window. I wondered what Ms. Adanna was doing and hoped she wasn't too bogged down with grading our work to miss out on a good night's rest. As for me, I slipped under the covers and prepared to do the same.  
  
  
The next morning, I woke up feeling energized. Strangely, the first thing that came to mind was Sofia. I had no idea why that was, but I decided to keep her in my head anyway. I got myself out of bed, got dressed, and headed out the door for another day of school. It was another cool, partly-cloudy morning—absolutely perfect weather for me.  
  
When I got to the bus stop, I spotted Sofia talking to one of her friends. I walked up to them with a smile.  
  
"Hey, Sofia," I greeted her with a smile.  
  
"Good morning, Anthony," she said, smiling back at me. I turned to her friend who just sort of casually waved at me and I waved back.  
  
"How are you feeling?" I asked Sofia.  
  
"A little tired, but good," she replied. "Hey, do, uh–" Again, she had a look in her eyes like something was forbidden from coming out of her mouth. As a result, it left her looking a little forlorn. "Uh, I mean, never mind. Sorry, my brain's a little out of it this morning."  
  
"Oh, ... okay," I said with some confusion. "Well, we can talk later today when your brain's a little more awake."  
  
"Sounds good, Anthony," she said, giving me another warm smile before I left her and her friend to talk amongst themselves.  
  
What in the world was going on with Sofia? I was getting this strange sense from her and I could not shake the feeling that there was something she was trying to say, but couldn't for whatever reason. I didn't know whether or not to worry about her, but, then again, she didn't make it seem like anything was really wrong. I sighed heavily in defeat. I guess I still had some more to learn when it came to the opposite sex – particularly the ones my own age. They were prone to being less decisive and a little more confusing.  
  
  
We all climbed aboard the magical, yellow transport vehicle that would take us to school. I felt pretty firmly at peace on the ride, smiling gently as I watched the sights go by from beyond the window. Just reflecting upon the many friends I'd soon get to see, both new and established, had me feeling pretty relaxed. And, of course, that now also included Ms. Adanna. The mere thought of her brought a smile to my face.  
  
Thereupon, on school grounds, I got to have my usual - and very pleasant - short chat with Eve. I then had a meeting with my breakfast before moving on to see my group of best friends. I explained to them that I'd be having lunch with Eve and Lila, as I'd promised, which was no problem for them. Afterward, Nora told me that _Jason_ had something he needed to talk to her about. He wanted to talk to her during lunch, and so, she wouldn't be meeting up with us. I couldn't help but roll my eyes, a disdainful expression I knew all of them could see yet I did not care. They were very aware of how I felt about him.  
  
The bell rang to call us all into the cement confines of our classrooms. Our gang all split up to head off to first period. We were back to our normal schedule of all six classes. Part of me was itching to get to fourth so I could see Ms. Adanna again. I kept that in mind all throughout first period, which made me enthused enough to feel like I was breezing through class. After that, of course, was second period.  
  
I took my seat in Algebra class and, not long after, Tamara entered the room. She sweetly greeted me with a wave and that innocent smile of hers. Just being in her presence always lit up my day – even during a day which had already been lit up as bright as the sun. I sighed happily and leaned back in my seat a bit while the teacher began to prepare the day's lesson for us.  
  
  
Once class was out, I said my 'goodbye's to the always perky Tamara and made my way out the door. Once I did, I suddenly heard a rather pathetic coughing behind me. I curiously turned around to see Elizabeta, who'd made her return to school. She was nowhere near her usual, boisterous self. She looked quite weary hiding under the hood of her thick, gray sweater.  
  
"Well," I said with a big smile as I watched her walk up to me, "about time you came back."  
  
"I've been sick," she quietly replied with a demure voice.  
  
"You are **not** sick," I prodded her as we began to walk together to our next class.  
  
"Yes, I **am** sick," she whined before quickly lowering her voice. "You don't know what that time of the month is like..."  
  
I held back a laugh. "Oh-ho, **that's** why you stayed home, huh?"  
  
"I just could not care enough to pull my ass out of bed," she said, her voice sounding a little more like normal. "You should be proud you have a dick, papi. You ain't gotta go through this bullshit."  
  
"Oh, I am pretty proud," I playfully said. She sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes.  
  
"That was _rhetorical_ ," she insistently said, "you dick."  
  
"I'm pretty sure rhetorical is when you ask a question that doesn't require an answer," I replied, knowing I was probably starting to annoy her.  
  
"What-the fuck-ever. I really don't care, I just want to go home."  
  
"Nice job for using such an advanced word, though," I complimented her as we headed into the stairwell.  
  
She quirked an eyebrow at me, almost in annoyance. "What do you think, I'm just a pretty face?"  
  
"Well, you _do_ have a pretty face," I replied with a smirk before pinching her cheek. "You're so adorable I could just eat you up."  
  
"Oh, fuck you, asshole," she snapped, slapping my hand away. "Touch me again and I'll rip your arm off."  
  
I smiled and held the second floor door open for her. I knew better than to ignite the fury of a girl on her period and so, I stifled a chuckle and remained quiet until we reached Biology. She suddenly darted past me into the classroom without so much as a 'goodbye' or even a bat of her eye. I shrugged, knowing she'd be back to normal soon.  
  
  
I'd gotten in my usual greetings with the girls who I could now call 'friends.' Talia, Eve, Lila, Sofia, Natalie and, yes, even Jennifer. They were what continued to make Biology as enjoyable as it always had been for me. Only now, I was much closer to all of them. I settled in to class and proceeded to do my work with a very content smile upon my face.  
  
Unsurprisingly, I was pretty dang hungry by the time the bell for lunch rang. I closed up my books and prepared to head out to lunch.  
  
"Don't worry," I said as I walked up to Eve, causing her to turn to me. "I didn't forget about our lunch date."  
  
She quietly laughed. "Awesome. Lila and I have been waiting to hang out with you a little more."  
  
I looked over and saw Lila wave to me before remarking, "I **never** thought I'd hear those words." The two of them chuckled.  
  
As we got out the door, I held my arm out for Talia, who was patiently waiting for me as usual. The other two girls followed behind, sharing a laugh at the scene between Talia and myself. Talia, though, paid them no mind as we headed down the steps and then outside. I decided to 'drop' Talia off at the front of the cafeteria as usual. She gave me a thankful kiss on the cheek, and I happily strolled into the line for lunch.  
  
I gave a quick greeting to my friends, save for the absent Nora, and then merrily headed outside to meet with the girls. Sitting next to Lila – a place I thought I'd never be – I began to dig into my food while the other two had already started to eat.  
  
"We're both really glad you came to join us," Eve said.  
  
"Yes," Lila added in a rather sensuous tone that caught me completely off-guard, " _very_ glad..."  
  
I felt Lila gently rubbing up and down my thigh. While I looked over, pleasantly surprised by that, Eve also began to gently rub my calf with her own.  
  
"Well," I playfully said, "I should probably get going. This lunch is getting a bit intense for me." I then pretended to get to my feet, only to be stopped by Eve.  
  
"Stop, stop," she insisted. "We're just fooling around."  
  
"Just like how you fooled around with **us** ," Lila suggestively remarked. I was amazed to see Lila like this.  
  
"I know _that_ ," I replied with a smile as I sat back down. "But, you know, ... I wonder if the two of **you** have ever 'fooled around' with each other?"  
  
" **Wow,** " Eve remarked in surprise, sharing a playfully offended gasp with Lila.  
  
"He _is_ a **bad** one..." Lila said, grinning at me.  
  
"Well, wouldn't you like to find out?" Eve said to me with a mischievous smirk.  
  
"I'd like to watch," I casually replied before taking a sporkful of food, eyeing the two with an interested expression.  
  
The two girls giggled almost incessantly. It sure was nice to be able to speak so freely and openly with them, without the worry of them being offended.  
  
  
"So, how would you do that, huh?" Eve asked me, both of them grinning from ear to ear. "Would you get a video camera and record the whole thing? Maybe upload it to the internet afterward?"  
  
"Kin-ky," Lila chimed in. "Yeah, share it on Napster. Call it 'Two horny teens go muff diving.'"  
  
I nearly choked on my food. "And here I thought **I** was the 'bad' one."  
  
As the two shared another laugh, I got one of those buzzing sensations again. This one was pretty powerful, enough to jar my senses. I groaned quietly and shook my head, trying to re-focus. The two girls looked at me and became concerned.  
  
"What's wrong?" Eve asked.  
  
"Uh, ... probably nothing. Feels like I'm getting a headache, I guess."  
  
"Aww. Well, _we_ can help you 'relax'..." Lila suggestively said as she gently rubbed the back of my neck while I finished off my food.  
  
" **You** two are a couple of sex kittens, I hope you know that," I said, pointing my spork to the two of them. We all shared a laugh as I got to my feet with my empty tray. "I'll be right back."  
  
I dropped my tray in the trash, and suddenly got another powerful buzz. It felt like it was emanating from a point nearby, magnetizing me toward it. I curiously walked forward and there, I saw Jason and Nora. They were having their 'discussion,' but it looked pretty one-sided from what I was seeing.  
  
  
He was getting loud with her back up against the wall. She looked absolutely miserable, unable to even look at him as she nervously held her arm. I could barely make out Jason's voice from afar.  
  
"What did I tell you, huh?" he shouted. "You're too stupid! You don't know how to listen to me!" To my horror, I then saw him slap her across the face. The sound of her cry of pain echoed in my head a thousand times over.  
  
And that was all I needed to see before I pretty much blanked out in a rage.  
  
I charged at him as fast as I could, past a bunch of students whose attention I immediately caught. I threw my fist forward and smashed it right into the side of his face before he even saw me coming. Startled, Nora gasped in terror. The impact literally took him off his feet and threw him several meters where he hit the ground hard. Then, there was the collective gasp of shock and awe from the nearby group of onlookers.  
  
"Holy shit," someone behind me remarked.  
  
"Did you see that?" another asked.  
  
I hissed from the pain in my fist, shaking it off and flexing my hand. Jason leaned up on his forearm, staring at me with a vindictive scowl. He flexed his jaw around before spitting out a wad of bloody saliva.  
  
  
" **Don't come near her anymore!** " I uncharacteristically raised my voice in a rage. " **You're done! Leave her alone!** "  
  
Jason slowly got to his feet, gritting his bloody teeth at me.  
  
"Fuck you," he angrily muttered before shouting, "you little **shit! You don't tell me what to fucking do!** "  
  
I stepped toward him, ready to let my fists tell him what to do. Nora immediately got in front of me.  
  
" **No!** " she shouted as she held me back. "Please, stop!!"  
  
I stopped in my tracks, keeping my eyes solidly locked on Jason. I was ready to send him through a damn wall. Jason scoffed and shook his head.  
  
"Fuck you," he said, pointing to me and then to her. "Fuck both of you. You hear me, Nora?! We're though! We're through, you stupid bitch!!"  
  
  
I growled, attempting to go after him as he limped away.  
  
"No!" Nora exclaimed, keeping herself in my path. "Just let him go, please..." I heeded her wishes and let him flee, begrudgingly watching him slither off to go lick his wounds.  
  
I was so angry – probably more angry than I'd ever been. Nora kept me firmly in place as I took some deep breaths, opening and clenching my fists. Damn him. I wanted to knock him unconscious so badly. But Nora's feelings meant more to me than kicking that idiot's ass. I looked down at her – she was hurting a lot worse than I realized.  
  
"Nora...," I quietly spoke as I saw her shaking.  
  
"Don't," she quietly pleaded, huffing as the tears started to fall from her eyes. "Please, don't fight. Don't fight because of me."  
  
"Okay," I reassured her. "No more fighting - I promise."  
  
She nodded in thanks, huffing and sobbing as she grabbed my shoulders and huddled into my chest. When I heard her starting to cry, my heart simultaneously sank and burned for revenge at the same time. I hated him so much for everything he did to her. I was more than ready to drag him back by his stupid, spiked hair and make him apologize to Nora. But, I made a promise to her. As much as I absolutely detested it, I'd have to stand back and allow fate to teach him a lesson instead.  
  
I leaned against the wall, holding the girl crying incessantly into my chest. Unsurprisingly, the crowd wasn't as interested as they were a minute ago when there was the attractive call of a fight looming. They began to break away and go back to their routines. I was more than fine with that. I didn't want or need a crowd gathered around Nora, not when she was in so much pain. She'd just abruptly gotten dumped by the scum of the earth. No matter how much I hated him, Nora had still loved him. I didn't know what she saw in him, but my point of view was irrelevant. It was _her_ heart that was broken.  
  
There was nothing I could think of, to say or do, that would've possibly made her feel any better. All I could do was continue to hold her, and remember that her heart would heal in time.  
  
  
I looked up at a nearby wall clock. There was only a couple minutes before lunch was over, but I didn't care. I was more than willing to skip class if it meant taking care of one of my most closest friends. She seemed to have a knack for what time it was, since she then pulled away from me a bit. She sniffled, taking off her glasses to dry her eyes off with the sleeve of her sweater.  
  
"Thank you," she spoke in the softest voice I'd ever heard.  
  
"You don't need to thank me," I softly replied. "You know I'd do anything for you."  
  
She sniffled and nodded. "That means a lot to me right now..."  
  
"Do you want me to ... take you to the office? Maybe you can call your parents to take you home."  
  
"No," she quickly replied. "I don't ... really want to explain this to my parents right now. I'll be okay. I'll just take a few moments to freshen up in the bathroom."  
  
"Okay. Is there anything else I can do? Just name it."  
  
"You already have," she replied before looking up at me with a heartbroken smile that was hard to look at. She then sighed heavily and left my company.  
  
I felt so bad letting her walk away like that. I swear, I would've swam across the ocean to get her Belgian chocolates if it would've cheered her up. Or I could've gone to the nearest grocery store for them, I guess. Still, I wanted her to be happy again. I sighed heavily, stuffed my hands in my pockets and idly kicked the dirt at the ground as I walked away. Lunch was over.  
  
  
I was full of rotten emotions back in class. I tried to not let it show, but it was pretty obvious to some of my friends in class; especially after I didn't come back to Eve and Lila. Without telling them the details, they seemed to let it slide and were quite understanding. Maybe they'd witnessed what happened. I kept myself mildly focused on my work but, for the most part, the scene at lunch kept replaying in my head over and over again.  
  
I just couldn't believe that something like this had to happen to Nora of all people. The minute I found out that Jason was her boyfriend, I knew it was going to end this way. I only felt fortunate **that** infection was neutralized before it got worse. Seeing him hit her like that ... it wasn't something I was prepared for. Just thinking about it again got my blood boiling. I wanted to deck that guy every single time I saw him for the rest of the school year.  
  
I sighed heavily, stretching my neck while rubbing the back of it. I was losing focus on my class work. Before the bell rang to end class, I knew I'd have to just make it up at home. I put my belongings away and quickly said my 'goodbye's to all of my "girlfriends." I then moved on to Spanish class. Seeing Ms. Adanna's beautiful face smile at me as I walked through the door cheered me up some. But, for the rest of class, I was just driving on coast. Spanish was the one class I was looking forward to all day long and now, I felt so much less enthusiastic. Sarah and Jordan seemed to have a sixth sense for that, as they didn't even try to get my attention for the entirety of class.  
  
Once I was done with Spanish, I picked up my backpack and quietly moved on to Driving class. I took my usual seat and, not long after, Frank, Josh and Brandon all came in at once.  
  
  
"Hey, man," Brandon said as he walked on by me. He placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder before taking his seat. I knew there was no way they didn't know by now what had transpired, not with how quiet they were being.  
  
"How's Nora doing?" I asked Frank as he sat down.  
  
He sighed before replying. "Like you'd expect – she's being pretty quiet about the whole thing. I did manage to get the details out of her. Good job on punching that guy straight into next week."  
  
"He had it coming," Josh added.  
  
"For sure," Brandon quietly chimed in.  
  
"That guy's lucky we didn't know what was going on," Frank said. "He would've had three very angry black guys on him before he could even blink."  
  
Brandon then added, "And one angrier white guy, with a fist of steel and balls to match."  
  
"Thanks," I replied with a smile. "I've been pretty out of it since it happened. Talking to you guys ... I feel a bit better."  
  
"Don't sweat it, man," Frank reassured me. "Nora's upset but, I also felt like she seemed a little happy. Dunno if it's because she knows it's over between her and that dickwad or from watching you come to her rescue."  
  
I nodded confidently. "I would've done it any day of the week, any time of day."  
  
"We know," Frank replied, "and we thank you for it."  
  
"Thanks, man," Brandon gratefully added.  
  
"It was real cool of you," Josh said.  
  
Each of them then extended their hand to me. I shared a handshake with all of them. Looking in their eyes and seeing the thankfulness there reminded me why I was such close friends with all of them. We all brought out the best in each other. When one of us was hurting – in this case, Nora – the others won't hesitate to aid them. I took a deep breath and let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as though a big weight was lifted off my shoulders. With that, I was able to concentrate on my work ... and my driving.  
  
  
With fifth period out of the way, I broke away from my friends to move onto last.  
  
"Nice work," I heard a voice come up from behind me. It was Nick, smirking proudly at me. "You've got him on the ropes. I've never seen him as panicked as he is now."  
  
"Thanks," I replied with a smirk of my own. "It was out of necessity. He laid a hand on my friend."  
  
"So I heard," he said as we walked toward the main building together. "He tried to justify what he did, but ... something tells me my aunt's not going to be happy when she hears what cousin Nick has to say about what Jason did today."  
  
"Thanks again, man." We then pushed the doors open in unison to head on inside.  
  
"No problem. No guy should get away with hitting a woman. I would've decked him myself, but I like it better when he thinks he has a friend in me. All that ammunition I've got against him ... it's not pretty. Trust me, he's got a lot of secrets he confided in me. Once they get out, he's going to find himself with a lot less friends and a whole school full of enemies. I wouldn't be surprised if he high-tailed it to another school before long."  
  
"Good," I said, narrowing my eyes as my voice lowered. "Finally he gets to know what it feels like to be the outcast."  
  
Nick came to a stop, as did I. He turned to me, placing his hands on my shoulders and looking me squarely in the eye.  
  
"You've grown up a lot since then. I can see it in your eyes. You're a lot stronger and a lot wiser. Keep focusing on **you** — not on others. Rising up and becoming a better person is the best revenge you can have against someone like Jason. He knows that you're not going to be held down by him any longer. It doesn't take a balled-up fist to prove that. Just remember that."  
  
"I will," I replied with a nod, uplifted by his words. "I would say 'thanks' again, but I've said it about a thousand times already."  
  
"That's okay," he said as he took his hands away. "Just remember that you are who you choose to be. You're a smart dude and you like to use your words. But just remember what they say about actions speaking louder than words." He left me to think about his words, turning and giving me a casual wave. "See ya later, Anthony."  
  
"See ya," I replied and watched him take his leave.  
  
Nick was really wise beyond his years. It was what I certainly aspired to be. His words were fuel enough to bounce me right back from my slump. It's amazing what a good friend is able to do, if for nothing else than to just talk to. I smiled and headed up to English class, which I then breezed through.  
  
  
Soon, school was over and I felt the usual elation I got knowing that I was free for the rest of the day. I went downstairs, onto the bus and into my seat that I could not wait to start hogging. Once everyone was aboard, surprisingly, the bus got rolling to take us all home. I, for one, could not wait to decompress after such a stressful day.  
  
At the end of the ride, I hopped off the bus and was met once again with the smiling face of Sofia.  
  
"Hello again," I pleasantly greeted her.  
  
"Hey, you," she replied. "So, do anything interesting today?"  
  
"Oh, just the usual," I said as we headed across the street. "One of my female friends' asshole boyfriend slapped her and I punched his lights out."  
  
She gasped in surprise. "... I don't even know where to start with that. ... Is she okay?"  
  
"Yeah. She's upset because he decided to dump her right afterward, but she's way better off without him anyway."  
  
"I agree," she remarked, shaking her head in disbelief. "Wow, he seriously hit her right in front of you?"  
  
"In front of everyone during lunch."  
  
"What a real jackass," she said with disgust. She then turned to me with a warm smile. "But then you came in like a knight in shining armor to her rescue, huh?"  
  
I laughed at the very suggestion. "I am nowhere **near** a 'knight in shining armor.' I was just sticking up for my friend. I would've done the same for anyone – like you."  
  
She giggled softly, a big grin upon her face. "It really doesn't surprise me that you would do something like that – I always knew you were a sweet guy. You don't have to tell **me** that."  
  
Sofia had a smitten look in her eyes on the rest of the walk home. The way she looked over and smiled at me at points was quite infectious. We made our way into the building and waited for the elevator. That great, big smile was pasted on her face, as evidenced from what I saw through the mirrors by the elevator. I also noticed her amazing legs that filled out those tight capris she always wore. For a brief moment, I found myself mentally undressing her and envisioned her standing there completely nude. That put a playful smile upon my face before I looked up at what floor the elevator was at.  
  
When the elevator arrived, we paused for someone to get off before both heading on. Once again, she looked a little tense about something. Only this time, she actually acted upon impulse rather than sitting back and doing nothing.  
  
  
When I went to press for my floor, she suddenly grabbed my hand.  
  
"Wait," she quickly said. "I'd like it if you came over my house for a bit."  
  
"How come?" I curiously asked.  
  
"I want to hang out with you some more," she warmly explained, grinning sweetly as she gazed into my eyes. "I like hanging out with you."  
  
"Oh," I replied, taken aback. "Okay, sure. I like hanging out with you, too, Sofia," I added, smiling at her.  
  
"Great!" she exclaimed before stepping back and allowing me to press for her floor. The doors closed and we were on our way.  
  
There was a certain amount of nervousness that I could see from her. She seemed a little ... fidgety, like she was worried something was going to go wrong.  
  
"Don't be so nervous," I reassured her. "I'm not gonna judge you or your place."  
  
She nervously laughed. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry, I just don't want you to get bored and leave or anything."  
  
"C'mon, I wouldn't do that to you," I said before putting on a playfully suave smile. "You _did_ say you thought I was a sweet guy."  
  
"Mm-hmm," she softly replied as the elevator reached her floor. "That's exactly why I want you to come over..."


	13. Sofia

When we reached Sofia's floor, the two of us headed off together. Of course, I allowed the lady to go first. As we walked down the hall, she had a visible, shaky nervousness about her and remained quiet. It started to become more and more obvious to me that she was thinking about more than just having me hang out at her place.  
  
She unlocked the door and I followed her inside. It was pretty and it smelled nice – just like her! Because of the fact that she lived directly above me, the layout of her apartment was exactly the same as my own. There'd been many a night I'd stayed up, wondering what the gorgeous girl above my ceiling was doing.  
  
"Well," she quietly said, "here we are. You can set your book bag on the chair, too."  
  
"Thanks," I replied, hooking my backpack to the fancy dining room chair. She stood around awkwardly for a moment before her eyes lit up.  
  
"Oh, would you like something to drink?"  
  
"Sure," I said with a slight grin.  
  
"One sec!" she said before heading off to the kitchen. She seemed pretty anxious to keep me entertained. Though I was finding her entertaining, I just stood back and remained calm. I hoped my demeanor would would rub off on her.  
  
  
From the refrigerator, she pulled out a water pitcher with one of those filters built into it. She looked worried, her hand shaking as she tried to pour the water into a glass and ended up spilling some.  
  
"Oh, damn it," she whispered, quickly biting her lip.  
  
"Hey, it's okay," I reassured her. I helped by placing my hands atop her own. "Here, I'll do it. I have some experience with these things."  
  
She quietly laughed as I steadied her hand to pour the water into the glass. She seemed to be quite comfortable being so close to me. I saw the hairs standing up on her arms before she looked over at me with a smile. She then sighed quietly.  
  
"Well then," she said as she turned to put the pitcher back into the fridge. "Let me show you around the place."  
  
"Sounds good," I replied with a warm smile. I took a sip from the glass of water while she led me out of the kitchen and into the living room.  
  
"So," she started, "in the living room, we have this beautiful, Italian leather sectional."  
  
"Very fancy," I remarked with raised eyebrows. She giggled softly. The couch looked like it was brand-new.  
  
"My mom's an interior decorator. Everything about her own home has to look perfect and spotless."  
  
"So I've noticed," I said as I looked around, impressed by the modern layout of the place. I then looked back at her with a cool smile. "It's actually very lovely in here. And I don't just mean because of the decor."  
  
She playfully grinned from ear to ear. "I didn't know you were so charming," she replied, innocently fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.  
  
"And I didn't know **you** ... had such a nice place."  
  
She giggled again. "Come on, let's check out the view," she said. She waved for me to follow her before opening the sliding glass door.  
  
  
We then stepped out onto the balcony. Not only did the tile look a million times fancier than my own, but the seating places and additional decorations did as well.  
  
"What do you think?" she asked, her eyes quite hopeful to continually impress me.  
  
"It looks nice," I replied, nodding and pursing my lips in approval. "I feel like I'm an entire story up. Very jarring; I might be getting acrophobic up here." She laughed and playfully pushed my arm. She then turned and noticed a rogue cup upon one of the tables.  
  
"Oh, darn it. Someone left a cup out here," she said before bending over to pick it up.  
  
The way she bent over was so purposeful. My eyes widened in awe with her practically shoving her ass into my face, wagging it back and forth to do something as simple as pick up a cup. It caused me to unconsciously undress her with my mind. She was making it more and more obvious that she had _something_ planned. By then, I had a pretty good idea what it was, but I was enjoying watching her put on a show for me. I casually took a sip of water before she stood up and turned to me with a big smile.  
  
"Let me just put this cup away. Come on." I nodded and followed her back inside, through the kitchen where she placed the cup down.  
  
  
I took one more swig of water and then placed it down on the counter beside it. She looked back and smiled again before leading me into her parent's bedroom. What an lavish affair **that** was. It was very open and neatly carpeted. The bed had a long headboard that also acted as a sturdy table for their lamps, phone and books. The expensive sheets also looked as though they were brand-new. I was almost afraid to get near them, in the worry I'd somehow mess up the bed made so perfectly.  
  
"Wow," I uttered before she could even say anything. For some reason, it just looked like a perfect 'beach' bedroom.  
  
"My mom really fusses over the details," she remarked, grinning as she looked around before turning to me.  
  
"I'd say," I remarked, my eyes soaking up the awe-inspiring space. "Should I be wearing some kind of protective suit in here? I don't want to get a hair or a flake of skin anywhere."  
  
"It's fine," she happily replied. She then grabbed my arm with both hands. "Come on, there's one more room left."  
  
I smiled as she led me away, playfully rolling my eyes. I knew exactly what the last room was.  
  
  
She brought me into her room, which was, surprisingly, the same size as my own. Her room was much more modest by comparison to the other rooms, which suited her well. There was a soft, aromatic smell of potpourri in the air. The drawn cloth curtains served to keep a comfortable darkness in the room. It seemed very relaxing and peaceful within the cozy confines of her space.  
  
"Oh," I said with some surprise. "I thought you were going to show me the bathroom."  
  
She smirked at me. "Very funny." I shot her back an innocent grin.  
  
She then rubbed her arm, awkwardly standing around again while thinking about what to say.  
  
"So, uh, ... what do you think of my room?"  
  
"It's nice," I replied with another approving nod. "Much nicer than my room. At least you make your bed and don't leave things lying around everywhere."  
  
She quietly laughed. "Typical guy behavior," she said, looking at me with a grin. "What do you think of the bed?"  
  
"It's ... nice, too," I replied with some confusion, not quite sure what she wanted me to say.  
  
"Well, ... I like these sheets," she said with a slightly nervous laugh. She bent over again, gently combing over the sheets with both hands. "They're soft and really nice to, you know, lay on."  
  
With her proportionate behind stuck so blatantly in my face again, she could not have made it any more obvious at that point. I decided it was time to stop letting her flounder about, and accept her invitation.  
  
  
She stood up, staring nervously at the bed as she tried to think of what else to say. I closed the gap between us, slipping my arms underneath her own. She gasped softly before she went quiet once again. She straightened her back while I went to test the waters as to how far she was willing to go when I took hold underneath her full, exquisite breasts.  
  
Sofia exhaled a quiet, sheepish moan, offering no resistance while my hands slowly explored the shape of her breasts. It was so quiet in her room. I heard every breath she took and the sound of her swallowing the nervous lump in her throat. I pulled a hand back to gently brush her long, blonde hair behind her back. She slowly gazed over at me with an innocent look in her eyes; so pure, so intimately curious of what I was going to do next.  
  
I smiled as I gently brushed her outer cheek with the back of my hand. Her eyes closed for a moment before fluttering back open, continuing to gaze at me. Her head was just barely tilted down, giving her blushing face a coy, demure look. I used my hand to guide her face toward my own before gently clasping my lips over hers. Sharing that first kiss with her was like pure magic. She uttered a quiet sigh of content, bringing a hand up to _my_ face and resting it on my cheek.  
  
I brought my hand back down to her breast, massaging into both a little more deeply. At the same time, I pressed deeper into our kiss, bringing her further into the exaltation of the pleasure we were already sharing. Then, without breaking our kiss, she turned herself around to face me. She started to kiss me back with more eagerness - a sentiment I gladly returned in kind.  
  
Sofia gently placed both hands on my face, both of us kissing each other deeply as I calmly began to undo the buttons of her blouse. She inhaled sharply in excitement, her lips pulling away once I had undone the final button. She stared at me with an infatuated twinkle in her eyes as she let the blouse fall from her arms and to the floor. She then took a moment running her hands delicately over my face and combing her fingers through my hair. All the while, she had a look in her eyes like she could not believe this was really happening. I simply closed my eyes and smiled, pulling her closer to me with my arms around her broad hips. Her body was innocently trembling, her breaths audibly nervous.  
  
After a moment, she leaned forward, pressing her lips into my own. I rubbed her lower back, reveling in just how warm and soft she felt against me. She was incredibly comfortable to have in my arms, so much so that part of me just wanted to never let her go.  
  
  
Then, I rather abruptly ended our kiss just as it was getting good so that I could gaze firmly into her eyes. Her curious eyes shifted between my own. Despite how comfortable it felt having her body pressed against my own, I wouldn't have felt right if I didn't say what I was about to say to her.  
  
"We don't have to do this, you know," I softly spoke up. She seemed taken aback by my response. I only hoped she hadn't expected me to just tear her clothes off and go at it like a mindless animal.  
  
"I know, but, ..." she whispered, exhaling softly. "I want to take this leap. There's nothing else in the world I want to do more than doing this ... with you. If ... you want to, that is."  
  
Her eyes were full of honesty and a bit of worry. Being denied at that point would've crushed her to pieces. I had no intention of doing that.  
  
"I do want to," I replied with a gentle smile. She grinned happily, the two of us eagerly resuming our previous kiss.  
  
Then, my hands came up to unhook Sofia's bra. She exhaled in excitement upon my lips once more as she let the garment to fall to the floor. She snaked her arms back around my neck, the other around the back of my head, just as I began to kiss her chin and down her neck. She embraced me tightly, tilting her head back. She gasped and moaned softly in elation as my lips and tongue explored the sensitive flesh of her neck.  
  
I wanted to keep things slow and calm for Sofia, to try to keep her as relaxed as possible. As for myself, I was wonderfully at ease in her embrace.  
  
  
When I moved down to her collarbone, I heard her exhale sharply as though the wind were knocked from her lungs. She knew exactly where I was going next, and her quickened breathing was a good indicator of that. She looked down, watching me with a lusty gaze. I moved slowly, offering to take my time to explore as I kissed down her chest. Eventually I reached the cleft between her soft, bulbous breasts. She stuck her chest out, as though offering them to me as I kissed in slow, gentle circles around them.  
  
I then slowly laved my tongue along the underside of both breasts. I pulled away, taking a brief moment to gaze upon her incredible breasts up close before firmly grasping one of them in my hand. She lustfully exhaled again from my touch. Her body began to tremble harder, anticipation and anxiousness swelling inside her. I then took her opposite nipple into my mouth, avidly sucking upon it.  
  
Sofia's nipples were hard, but became even harder under my stimuli. My fingers dug deep into her flesh, massaging her breast like a gorgeous stress ball. She panted and moaned softly, yet eagerly. Her breaths combed through my hair while her fingers did the same whilst stroking the back of my head. I pulled her tighter with my arm around her back, arching her back while simultaneously sucking harder upon her nipple. I was swept up in the warm, sweet, succulent aroma of her body mixed with the relaxing fragrance of potpourri.  
  
Her head tilted back, moaning in lust, happily soaking up every bit of pleasure I gave her amazing body. I continued to audibly suck harder on her erect bud. My tongue sloppily licked at it, drooling down the flesh of her round breast. Then, I slid my tongue back up to her neck. At the same time, both of my hands grabbed tight hold of her breasts and felt the pounding of her heart under my fingers. I began rubbing and massaging them thoroughly, pushing them together and pulling them away. My breathing was becoming as hot as hers as I amorously licked her neck and listening to her moan lustfully in response. I was so very turned on to see her half-naked and so submissive toward me. Both of us felt the lustful heat throbbing through our bodies.  
  
During the entirety of us getting lost in each other, I'd actually forgotten about stopping time.  
  
  
With heavy panting, she tilted her head back down and looked into my eyes. I tucked her hair behind her ear before sliding the back of my hand down her cheek. Her face was almost completely flushed red. Her eyes were full of wonder as she gazed intimately at me. She was so amazing, so sweet and pure. She had always been such an incredible friend to me. I was so elated, and honored, to be sharing such an incredibly personal moment with her.  
  
She then took hold of my face, her lips anxiously seeking out my own to share a passionate kiss. Her body gently rubbed against mine, yearning for relief from the heat of desire coursing through her veins. It became obvious how badly she wanted this.  
  
Sofia brought her hands down, gently tugging at the hem of my shirt. I lifted my arms up momentarily as she effortlessly pulled it over my head and I tossed it aside. She gazed upon my bare flesh for a moment. Her trembling, delicate hands slowly slid down my shoulders and to my abdomen. She continued panting quietly, her hands going up behind my back and shoulders. Her body pulled closer to me, gently kissing my lips for just a brief moment. I smiled at her once again, which caused her to do the same.  
  
Her hands then came down, stopping upon my crotch. She exhaled in wonder once again as she felt my erection through my clothing. She slowly unzipped my pants and then reached inside, freeing my rock-hard manhood. She gasped and stared at it in astonishment, as though she'd never seen one before. Her initial shock quickly died down and took gentle hold of my pulsing rod.  
  
Her soft, warm hands tenderly caressed my aching flesh. I moaned quietly, gazing into her eyes with an amorous lust. She seemed hypnotized by my gaze, unable to turn her eyes away for a couple moments while continuing to blindly fondle my shaft. Then, she looked down upon it once more. Her fingers gently wrapped around me and began to stroke me within her tight grip. Her slow tugging drew glistening droplets from my tip while I softly groaned and sighed.  
  
She slowly sat down upon the bed behind her, bringing me closer. She let up on her tight hold, her other hand coming up to help in massaging me. Her eyes were unable to turn away from the allure of my organ, entranced by the object pointed at her face. She then leaned her head in to take a curious lick of the thick fluid dribbling from its head. She pulled her head away momentarily, a look of bewildered amazement upon her face as she gently smacked her lips.  
  
Her expression then calmed down and she closed her eyes. Sofia edged herself forward a bit, head dipping in once more. Her trembling lips and shaky breaths met the head of my cock, sending a shiver of delight through me. She took a hand away, placing gentle kisses down one side of it while her hand held the other side. I reveled in the delight of her warm lips peeling away from my sensitive flesh with each kiss. I then sighed amorously as she drew her noticeably dry tongue back up to the tip.  
  
Her breathing began to quicken again as she slowly circled her tongue around my head. Then, she pursed her lips around it and slowly sucked her way down my length.  
  
  
I let out a deep groan of satisfaction. Sofia's movements were coy, yet relentless, as she slowly bobbed her head. I gently held a hand to the back of her head, groaning in pleasure, letting her know she was doing just fine. She placed her hands upon my thighs, softly moaning and sighing. She was so inexperienced, and yet still so wonderful. Her warm mouth was dry and sticky as a side-effect of how nervous she was. However, she was unyieldingly diligent in her attempts to pleasure me.  
  
I gazed down in awe at her passionate effort. I couldn't imagine the number of times I'd fantasized about her doing this. Whether it be set in Biology class, or on the bus, or even some quiet spot on the walk home from school. I'd always found everything she did quite amazing. She very briefly gazed up at me so innocently with those hazel eyes of hers, while endlessly sliding her lips down my manhood. It was truly a sight to behold.  
  
I brought my hand under Sofia's chin, gently coaxing her to a halt. She curiously looked up at me as I withdrew from her mouth. I took her by the hands, helping her up to her feet. I greeted her with a deep kiss, which she gladly accepted, while working to undo her pants as well. I was eager to give her a turn, looking to amaze her as much as she amazed me.  
  
Those capris of hers took a little effort and some shimmying on her part to remove. Once they were down to her knees, I did the same with her panties as well. Our lips still locked together, I slid an arm under her soft, round butt and lifted her up. I leaned over the bed, laying her head down upon the pillow before allowing our lips to part.  
  
  
I stood up, removing my jeans and my boxers. At the same time, she worked to do the same, kicking her pants and panties off to the floor. We both removed our shoes, both deciding to keep our socks on.  
  
She then pulled the covers out from under her, folding them next to her to lay on the even softer spread beneath. I calmly laid down beside her, our eyes never breaking from each other, welcoming each other back into our arms with another brief kiss.  
  
With one arm around her back, I began to slowly run my other hand down the side of her body. Sofia looked so magnificent laying prone and nude upon the bed. I smiled endlessly, constantly amazed at how beautiful she was. My hand went down to her thigh, then back up just as slowly. She sighed quietly, mirroring my smile, though I knew she was still quite nervous.  
  
I cupped her cheek, rubbing against her soft skin with my thumb. She uttered a soft mewl, leaning her head into my hand, almost like she was nuzzling against it. I slowly slid my hand back down once again, this time over the front of her body. I listened to her quiet gasps as my hand traveled between her breasts, down her belly, and over her legs once more.  
  
There, I gently scraped my fingertips over Sofia's thighs in slow circles. She moaned softly, her eyes glittering as her legs began to slowly part from one another. It was a beautiful sight to gaze upon – almost like watching a flower bloom. Once there was enough of a gap, I let my hand calmly wander into the space between them. She gasped sharply, her legs flinching as my fingers made contact with her warm, wet petals.  
  
  
She looked at me with some visible nervousness. I gave her a gentle kiss to reassure her and to let her know she was in good hands. After all, my hands had gotten quite good at this sort of thing. We traded kisses back and forth while my fingers explored her swollen, sensitive sex. She held me tighter, suddenly in complete refusal of letting me go. She panted heavily, trembling and shaky. She was so willing and so ready to go, but I wanted her to remember our moment together as something more than me just climbing atop her and thrusting into her.  
  
I slipped my fingers betwixt her folds and was immediately greeted with the presence of an oddly familiar fleshy barrier along the bottom. I didn't even have to think twice about what it was, though it only served to enhance my excitement. She gasped loudly as I used a couple of fingers to slowly push inside of her. I reaffirmed my hold around her as she closed her eyes, analyzing the sensation of my fingers crawling into her most personal confines.  
  
Sofia was so very wet and very tight. Her hymen resiliently stretched around my fingers as I moved them in and out of her. She moaned directly at my face, her face wrought with an expression of pained pleasure. I didn't even feel like looking down her body, finding myself focusing my gaze upon her lovely visage. Her body started to slowly come alive with a splendrous writhing as I fingered her wonderful sex faster. The warm fluids leaked from her folds. She uttered these soft, demure, intermittent cries between bouts of silence and sharp gasping. It made me more enthralled with her to watch her in such agonizing heat.  
  
  
With my finger buried deep into her dripping sex, I decided to try something different. I raked my fingertips against the top of her spongy walls. It took a moment, but I then began pressing into her g-spot just as Ms. Adanna had taught me. The reception from her was simply astounding. Her body suddenly became infinitely more animated than before, sharp gasps and cries of elation escaping her lips.  
  
"Ohh~! Anthony!!" she squealed in amazement. Hearing her call my name in ecstasy was a sound I'd never forget. Everything about that moment was so wonderful.  
  
I stopped stimulating her g-spot, going back to rhythmically fingering her for a moment. She let out a long sigh of pleasure as she came down from an intense high. Her legs fluidly writhed as the rest of her body blissfully snaked around on the bed. With her sex dripping even more fiercely than before, I suddenly went right back to her hyper-sensitive g-spot.  
  
I smiled as I continued to 'push her buttons.' It was enthralling to listen to her passionate cries and watch Sofia's beautiful body squirming and moaning in sexual bliss. I could say with absolute certainty that I loved the opposite sex.  
  
Her movements quickly became so intense that I knew she was on the verge of climax. I panted softly, staring at her with a comparatively calm demeanor amidst her loud cries and powerful tremors. She held me so very tightly - as tightly as the walls of her sex clung to my fingers. Her back arched and dug into the bedsheets before she froze in place immediately upon reaching her orgasm. I quickly withdrew my fingers from her and held her in both arms, her body quaking and shuddering helplessly against me. She gasped and exhaled so sharply, her body jerking with each intense, heavenly contraction whilst thin fluid gushed from her.  
  
She panted into my neck, continuing to hold onto me for support. I kept my hold upon her as well, watching her slowly regain control of her senses.  
  
  
I was eager with anticipation by then, knowing she was as well. I steadily and quietly maneuvered my body between her stilled, open legs. Once she realized what I was doing, she parted her legs wider and gently took hold of my pulsing manhood. She pivoted her hips up, helping to guide me inside her. When the point of my shaft found its mark, both of us gasped as I very slowly began to slide within Sofia's very hot, very tight confines. She panted heavily, holding a hand to my abdomen to keep me from going any faster. I had no problem with that. After all, it was **her** body–I was merely a lusty visitor.  
  
Once my hips were firmly pressed into her own, and our union was complete, we both sighed in relief. Our eyes seemed to immediately look to one another before she leaned up to share a very elated kiss with me. Her head then laid back down on the pillow, my arms lifting me to prop myself over her.  
  
I began to move slowly in and out of her, listening to her quiet moans as I softly panted along with her. She kept her hand seated firmly on my abdomen to keep my movements slow.  
  
  
"Oh, wow...," I whispered. She was an absolute dream come true.  
  
Soon, she felt comfortable enough to let her hand join the other upon my shoulders. Sofia crossed her legs behind my hips, pulling me deeper inside, to our mutual delight. Our voices gently called to each other in wondrous bliss as I moved in and out of her. Our panting bodies quickly became very hot as we went slow, taking my time to make love to someone I considered a close friend to me. I wanted everything about our time together to be warm and personal as we became lovers.  
  
Under the soft warmth of the covers, her sex quietly sucked upon me. I reveled in how easy it was to slide through her tight, shifting muscles as I rhythmically penetrated her luscious heat. The awe-inspired look on her face told me she enjoyed it just the same.  
  
She panted heavily in excitement and nervousness. She bit her lip and tossed her head back for a brief moment, swallowing before exhaling in beautiful passion. Her lust-filled eyes stared up at me with so much amazement and adoration. She occasionally glanced down to watch me sinking into her body, but kept looking right back up into my eyes. I kept my gaze affixed to her own as well. Everything about what we were doing - that 'leap' she had wished to take - felt so right. It was like everything was set perfectly. She uttered a sudden cry of splendor that elated me.  
  
"... _Anthony~_..." Sofia lustfully exhaled into my ear, sending shivers of delight down my spine. I never could've imagined her voice in lust would sound so beautiful.  
  
  
I soon became entranced with the sound of the her tight sex quietly sucking around my engorged flesh. I took a moment to watch her gorgeous breasts bounce. Her irresistible, flushed body gently arched as she tossed her head from side to side in ecstasy. She was so ravishing in heat. The barely-visible sight of my manhood glistening as I entered her again and again was one I would never forget.  
  
Her arms and legs were so firmly wrapped around my frame. She seemed completely unwilling to let me go as we made love together. The exquisite look of ecstasy on her face made me realize just how badly she had wanted me. She'd never known how badly I had wanted her just the same and how many times I'd dreamed, fantasized about her. Just knowing that she lived so close to me was so frustrating. But now, we were both getting what we yearned so desperately for. It felt like I was making history by being the first man to explore her uncharted delight. The first guy to appreciate how incredible it felt to have **her** as a lover.  
  
Our constantly moving bodies were tangled amongst the plush spread of her bed as we ecstatically made love. We were in a safe place - warm and protected amongst the thick blankets, pillows and cushiony mattress. Nothing else mattered to us beyond those linen. The fabric also served to intensify the heat coming off our lusty bodies. Sweat rolled down my body and onto her to mix with her own.  
  
The two of us were happily lost in a daze as we drowned in the splendor of warm, casual sex with a close friend. She wanted so badly to keep her eyes upon me, but she was getting drawn in by the lusciously sweet caress of ecstasy. Sofia began uttering such innocent, helpless, little whimpering cries of ecstasy that almost made it seem like she was crying. It instinctively drew me in closer to her, lowering myself onto my forearms. She began showering me with affection once I'd come close; panting in excitement while tenderly stroking my face, neck and the back of my head. All the while, she stared at me in an ecstasy-laden daze. Panting and moaning, our faces were mere inches away from each other. We gazed deeply into each others' eyes, both of us in the splendrous disbelief that this was happening.  
  
Every second within Sofia was like magic.  
  
  
My rhythm picked up in a sudden huff. Our bodies were woven tightly together in the midst of torrid, heated, sweaty sex. We pushed deeply into the soft mattress, springs gently squeaking under our combined weight. I moaned deeply in a lustful daze, sweating from head to toe, relentlessly punching my hips into her own while she happily writhed in heavenly bliss beneath me. The hot, swollen head of my shaft vigorously spearheading through her white-hot heaven, both of us lost in the intense heat and the unreal pleasure.  
  
"Ahhh! Ohh~! **Anthony~!** " Sofia cried out, her apex rapidly approaching as her cries hit a fevered pitch.  
  
She arched her back once again, groaning lustfully. Her hot cream gushed out of her once again while she let out a long, satisfied sigh of penultimate relief. The corners of her mouth were curled into a lithe smile as she climaxed around me. That expression was so gorgeous. I knew I'd just satisfied a deep, pent-up fantasy of hers.  
  
Watching her climax one more time left me mesmerized. I mindlessly began pounding her in anticipation of my own climax. It was almost effortless to reach that splendid finale within her incredibly slick, heavenly, tight walls. As I groaned louder and louder in ecstasy, my senses quickly snapped back to reality just in time to pull myself from her. My groans hit a sharp crescendo and I immediately began to ejaculate on her without even touching my organ. I quickly took hold of it, my body jerking with each heavenly spurt. Sofia watched in awe as my semen shot all the way up to her collarbone, down the cleft of her sweaty breasts and continued trailing down the rest of her chest and belly.  
  
I shuddered out the last of it, letting go of my penis and slowly planting both hands on the bed as I, myself, came back to my senses along with her. The two of us rested in place for a moment, panting in satisfied exhaustion.  
  
  
As my excited manhood slowly began to fall limp, I collapsed onto my side next to her. Sofia held tight to her grip around me, coming with me as I fell over, the two of us remaining face to face. We panted softly together in harmony. I saw the same excited expression of amazement upon her face to know that we had just done that together. Our hot, sweaty bodies relaxed under the safety of the covers.  
  
Then, she eagerly edged her face toward my own and we shared a wonderfully deep kiss. As we did, her body scooted toward mine and she embraced me tighter than I'd ever been embraced before. It became clear after a couple minutes that she refused to stop kissing me. My attempts to gently pull away only caused her lips to magnetize toward my own. I wasn't upset with that in the least, settling in for a long make-out session.  
  
Ultimately, stopping time turned out to be unnecessary. Sofia had become my first lover without it.  
  
  
We kissed for several more minutes, until I think both of our lips started getting numb – because mine certainly were. Afterward, she had a curiously wondrous look in her eyes as she gently stroked my face for a moment.  
  
"Come on," she softly said.  
  
Sofia then pulled the covers off of us and calmly sat up on the bed. She stood up tall, inviting me to follow. I smiled and happily sprung to my feet to join her. She gently took me by the hand and led me out of the room. We headed into the bathroom, right across from the door to her room. She reached into the shower to turn the water on, testing it for a moment until it was hot enough. I followed her as she stepped into the shower, sliding the door closed behind me. She slipped her arms under my own, holding my upper back tightly. She calmly let the side of her head rest on my shoulder and shut her eyes.  
  
I smiled and returned the favor, keeping her in the same tight embrace she seemed to enjoy giving me. She sighed calmly as the hot water cascaded down our bodies. She looked completely calm; at peace in my arms. I knew for sure that I'd satisfied a very deeply-seated fantasy in her mind. With the back of my head blocking the stream of water, she pulled her head back to look at me for just a moment. She had a warm, peaceful gaze in her eyes. She looked at me for a long moment before finally speaking.  
  
"Anthony," she quietly said, "that was the most wonderful thing I've ever felt in my entire life. I want you to know that you just made me feel so beautiful and that I'm so very, very happy to have you as one of my most closest friends..."  
  
I smiled and nodded gently. "Sofia, I–"  
  
"Shh," she shushed me with a finger upon my lips. "I didn't really want to chat right now. I just want you to hold me nice and tight..."  
  
"You got it," I softly replied, allowing her to settle comfortably back into my embrace.  
  
  
We must've stood there with the hot water gently running over us for about ten or fifteen minutes. By then, my skin was starting to get all pruney. She inhaled sharply and gazed up at me with a soft smile, as though she'd awoken from a refreshing nap.  
  
She whispered, "Thank you for that..."  
  
"For which part?" I curiously replied.  
  
" _All_ of it..." A big, happy grin spread across her lips. Regret over out act was certainly the furthest thing from her mind. She then sighed heavily, despondent. "My parents are going to be home soon. I gotta get those bed sheets into the wash before they get here. And ... I'm pretty sure they'll freak if they see a naked boy walking around."  
  
I chuckled. "That seems like a good guess."  
  
Sofia blindly reached for the shower handle and shut the water off. She opened the shower door, gently pulling away from me before I followed her out. She handed me one of the two hanging towels on the towel bar, taking the other for herself. I found myself smiling as we simultaneously dried ourselves off, finding it to be a surreal and yet so very satisfying sight. She took a look at my smile and uttered a happy laugh. When she was finished, she playfully threw her towel on my face.  
  
"Hey!" I shouted and laughed.  
  
She giggled as I let both towels fall to the ground. I followed her as she headed out of the bathroom, back into her room where she began to reclothe herself. I followed suit, both of us unable to stop grinning as we just continued to watch each other. After that, she eagerly and happily cinched her arms under my own and held me tightly.  
  
Afterward, she led me back to the front door, continuing to smile at me. I grabbed my backpack where I'd left it as she opened the door for me.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow," she sweetly said. I grinned from ear to ear.  
  
"You sure will," I replied with a nod.  
  
We shared one, final, gentle kiss before I stepped out into the hallway. She sweetly waved to me, and I waved back before she shut the door. I inhaled and sighed deeply in satisfaction. It felt like I had gone through a whole whirlwind of emotions in such a short amount of time – and I had loved every single minute of it. Now the storm had passed, and I was left feeling pretty dang amazing. I stuffed my hands into my pocket, giving the front door of her apartment one last look before smiling and striding away.  
  
  
That evening, I decided to hang out on the beach once again. Being the middle of the week, there weren't that many people around, so it was fairly peaceful. Some deep clouds were slowly rolling in over the ocean, though I had plenty of time to sit there and enjoy the sight. 'Time' – how I'd grown so bonded with that word. I began to wonder, though, with my new power over time, did I become some kind of time ... keeper? What if the reason I could stop time was actually because I controlled it forever? The very idea was straight out of an action-adventure cartoon. Boy lives normal life, boy gets time powers, boy becomes time master and goes on crazy adventures against the forces of evil. Hey, maybe I'd end up having my own team of pals ... maybe even a talking dog!  
  
I smiled to myself as my eyes scanned over the horizon. Just for kicks, I decided to stop time for a moment since it was on my mind. The silence was so much more peaceful - although eerily so - than any quiet trip to the beach could be. That's when I heard _it_ once again — the whispering.  
  
  
A sudden chill ran down my spine as the sound was so much louder than it had ever been. Simultaneously, my head buzzed with the sense that something unpleasant was behind me. I quickly turned around, my eyes going wide as I found myself mere feet away from the same, black-clad mystery person I had seen in school.  
  
I slowly, cautiously rose to my feet, trying my best to keep my initial fear from showing. After all, I was face-to-obscured face with some kind of otherworldly being that only showed up when time was stopped. I calmly swallowed the lump in my throat as I kept the most serious expression I could upon my face. I sized him ... or possibly her ... up for a moment. The whispering slowly began to die down, which is when I decided to speak.  
  
"Who are you?" I slowly asked, demanding an answer. " _What_ are you?"  
  
The being remained silent for a few moments.  
  
"Can't you speak?" I added. "Or do you only talk in whispers?"  
  
"... _Time_ ..." it responded to me in an ethereal voice that echoed around me. It then slowly raised its arms up to chest height, allowing me to see the bony, grayish flesh under the thick robe it wore. I cautiously stepped back, my head buzzing hard on both sides of my temples. That's when my expression turned to pure terror as I realized there were **two** more beings exactly like the first that had been standing silently at either side of me. I quickly turned around to see if there was any more of them. To my relief, there was not.  
  
However, when I turned back around, they were gone.  
  
  
I clenched my teeth and huffed sharply. My heart was racing so fast that I couldn't believe it. I was trying my hardest to make sense of what just happened, but it was impossible. I rubbed my shoulder, panting softly to catch my breath. I wasn't sure what to do for a moment, whether I was going to get blindsided again or not. So, I stood in place, my senses going into overdrive to detect whether or not there was any other unreal shenanigans going on. After a moment, I plopped back down onto the sand and sighed heavily. I spun myself around so I was in the same position before stopping time, resumed it, and then wearily fell back onto the sand.  
  
I stared blankly at the clouds above me, my arms laid at my side. I slowly shook my head in disbelief.  
  
"What the hell was that?" I asked the sky.  
  
  
Later at night, once I was back home and the rain had begun to come down, I found myself deep in thought. I had finished all of my homework, taking the final potato chip out of a small bag next to me before chomping down on it. I crumpled up the bag and carelessly tossed it across the room, managing to sink it into the trash can. I then sighed, staring at the floor while sitting at the edge of my bed. I was racking my brain trying to figure out what all this crazy whispering and people in black robes was about.  
  
What if I really _was_ , like, a time god or something? How would that even make sense? And why **me**? I'm not interested in taking over some kind of ethereal job dealing with time. Maybe those people I saw were actually the team of pals I joked about? I let out a soft, careless chuckle when I realized they were missing the talking dog I hoped for. But, what did they want with me? When I was amongst them, nothing in my mind let me really think that they were my friends at all. Did they hate me for some reason? What if they want to kill me?  
  
I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't even care to go on the computer like I usually did in the evening. Instead, I got up and shut down my computer much earlier than usual before turning off the light and slipping into bed. I stared up at the ceiling, listening to the soft pattering of rain outside my window. I sighed deeply, letting my thoughts to carry me off to sleep.  
  
Somehow I just knew ... I was eventually going to get my answers.  
  
  
The next morning, upon my approach to the bus stop, I found Sofia standing there watching my arrival. She grinned from ear to ear as I neared, walking up to me and hugging me under my arms. I smiled happily, hoping there weren't too many eyes staring at us. Since it was such a small group, though, I wouldn't be surprised if they all were. She let her arms fall away from me, looking at me with an elated grin.  
  
"Someone got up on the right side of bed this morning," I joked. She softly giggled.  
  
"Yes, I did," she replied.  
  
"Did you sleep well?"  
  
" _Very_ well," she said with a hint of suggestiveness. "I almost got in huge trouble yesterday when my parents got home."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Well, they wondered why there was a cup left on the kitchen counter. I had to lie and tell them I did it, even though it's something I never do. Then, they wanted to know why I was doing laundry at such a weird time. They also wanted to know why I took a shower randomly as well and why two towels were used."  
  
"Wow," I remarked in surprise. "Your parents are really attentive ... and suspecting. I really did not think about any of that stuff. I'm sorry you had to lie to your parents."  
  
"It's fine. They didn't ground me or anything, but I did get yelled at over the cup and the towels. I really don't mind it, because I didn't want them to find out. I wanted to always remember how amazing that time we shared was, not that I got busted for it afterward."  
  
"I can understand that. After all - I was there." The two of us then grinned at each other as she had another small giggle. I then glanced over and saw her bestie staring pretty intensely at us. "Looks like your friend might be getting a little impatient," I said to Sofia.  
  
"Oh, that's just her being her. Don't worry, I didn't tell her about anything that happened yesterday. Bu~t, I think she might have a suspicion." She then glanced to her friend and then back to me. "Anyway, I should get back to her. I'll see you later, Anthony."  
  
"See ya, Sofia," I replied before she smiled and walked back to accompany her friend.  
  
That was a really pleasant start to my morning. It was more than enough to get my mind off of any freaky, robed, time people – at least for a little while.  
  
  
The bus soon rolled to a stop before us and swiftly whisked us off to school. At the front of school grounds, I found Eve sitting in her usual spot. She peered an eye up, almost sensing that I was approaching and greeted me with a warm smile. She then gave me an equally warm hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. The two of us shared a usual morning chat before I headed off to get myself some breakfast. Afterward, I walked outside to see my friends. Nora immediately got to her feet when she saw me approaching them. She rushed up to me to greet me with a huge hug. I hugged her back, a bit confused.  
  
"Nora?" I asked, looking to the guys.  
  
"Just go with it, man," Frank quietly said, waving his hand.  
  
"Are you okay?" I asked Nora. She sighed heavily in content, looking up at me with a smile.  
  
"I am now," she said. "I really am. ... Thank you so much for standing up for me yesterday. You don't know how much it meant to me."  
  
I smile warmly, understanding now what this was all about.  
  
"You don't have to thank me," I reassured her.  
  
"Yes, I do," she quickly replied. "You were so cool yesterday. You're really ... the coolest guy I know. ... I really like you a lot."  
  
I was taken aback by that confession. I didn't quite know how to respond.  
  
"Um ...," I awkwardly uttered. It didn't take long for her to realize what I was thinking.  
  
"Oh, no!" she quickly exclaimed. "I don't mean it like that. I mean I really like you as a friend," she explained further. "Really, you're a wonderful friend to me – you always have been. Thank you."  
  
I smiled again and nodded to her. I wasn't sure I'd be able to requite her feelings if she had actually confessed something much deeper than just friendship.  
  
"Anytime," I calmly said.  
  
  
Nora then gave me a friendly kiss on the cheek before settling back into our embrace. I looked over at the other guys who all grinned and gave me two thumbs up. I smiled and rolled my eyes, giving a thumbs up back to them. Still, it was pretty great to get such warm hugs from three female friends in one morning. But soon, the bell to begin school rang and the two of us were forced to part ways.  
  
"See you at lunch," Nora said, smiling.  
  
"I will be there," I nodded to her before she headed back to get her backpack. We all then headed off in our own directions for our first period.  
  
  
First period was more of the same that day – simple, efficient, brief. In second period, I got to chat a little with Tamara and soak up her sunny smile. I also got a good punch in the arm from Elizabeta on our way together to third period. There, I chatted it up with all of my new female friends, including Sofia. It was a rarity to get to talk to her in class, since she was usually so focused on her work. She gave me another tight hug before heading off to her seat on the other end of the room.  
  
Of course, I was always happy when lunch rolled around. Not only because, well, _food_ , but also because it gave me a chance to talk to my friends after what happened in school yesterday. Nora informed me that she hadn't spoken to Jason since 'the incident' and that he chose to completely avoid her when she spotted him in the hallway. I could only smile and nod my head proudly. The less interaction he had with Nora, the better. All throughout, the guys were teasing me by making kissing faces and pointing to Nora when she had her focus on me. Although their actions were childish and immature, I was ecstatic that things felt as natural and back to normal as they were – like before the whole 'time stopping' thing had begun.  
  
  
It was in fourth period that I had a deeper conversation than usual with my two female friends therein. After I'd gotten settled in, Jordan and Sarah walked into class. They headed past me, Sarah giving me an almost reassuring squeeze upon my shoulder. I was taken aback by the gesture, turning to the two as they sat down.  
  
"Hey," I curiously greeted them. "What's up?"  
  
"Just wanted to know if you're okay," Sarah asked. "You weren't yourself yesterday."  
  
"Yeah," I replied with a sigh. "I had to deal with this guy. He was my friend's boyfriend and, well, ... I saw him hit her."  
  
Both of them were shocked.  
  
"My god!" Sarah exclaimed. "Is she okay?"  
  
"She's doing better now, but ... I can tell she's still heartbroken."  
  
Jordan humphed and shook her head in disgust. "Did you at least knock his ass out?"  
  
"Yes, I did," I replied with a confident nod.  
  
"Good," she replied with a smirk. "I'm proud of you." I chuckled softly.  
  
"Don't worry," Sarah chimed in. "We'll treat you to pizza again as a congratulations."  
  
"Thanks," I said, smiling happily. It felt really nice to know I had those two on my side.  
  
Sarah shook her head. "No need to thank us. That was really cool of you to stand up for your friend like that."  
  
"Good job, slugger," Jordan playfully added.  
  
I then turned around, trying to keep myself from busting out laughing. The praise they'd given me elated my spirits to the point where I found Jordan's little nickname for me hilarious. I instead let out a deep, happy sigh and got to focusing on my work presented to us by the gorgeous Ms. Adanna.  
  
  
The rest of the day was enjoyably uneventful. I was glad to have normality shine through all the chaos that had happened in my life over the past week and a half. Now that all the dust was beginning to settle, I was left with a lot of new friends as well as my inexplicable yet extraordinary new superpowers. I felt like I was finally able to comprehend, absorb and adapt to all the change. I was in a good place in my life once more, finding a state of tranquility. Nothing was able to disrupt my high spirits or shake the foundation of my mind any further.  
  
Well, nothing except for the mystery surrounding the people in black robes.  
  
The bus ride home was enjoyable. So was the walk back home. Sofia took the opportunity to wrap her arms around one of my own, her head rested comfortably on my shoulder as we walked side by side. The affectionate gesture really just melted my heart and made me feel like my life had truly become something quite amazing. It was fortunate that Sofia and I found ourselves on the elevator alone together as usual. It gave her the opportunity to pull me in for a deep, warm embrace and to share a wonderfully intimate kiss with me.  
  
Once the doors opened, I departed from her company. She had a big grin upon her face as she watched me leave. I knew she felt incredibly satisfied to have finally spoken up and made her own fantasy come true. Of course, I couldn't say I'd come away with nothing out of it myself.  
  
  
That night, I found myself lying calmly upon my bed, idly tossing a crumpled sheet of paper to the ceiling. It was amazing how normal things felt for me after less than two wild weeks of non-stop up's and down's. I ended up with over half a dozen unforgettable sexual experiences with members of the opposite sex that I'd absolutely fawned and fantasized relentlessly over. On top of that, I managed to best one of my most despised bullies and get him to back off from harming one of my best friends any further. I actually found the drive to pay attention to my schoolwork, and though I might've been getting ahead of myself, I already felt my grades starting to climb.  
  
My life had done a complete one-eighty ... and yet it felt so _normal_.  
  
I was happy. Although I'd always been a happy person, overall I just felt so much more ... satisfied. It wasn't purely because of just _having sex_ , but the fact that the bonds and the friendships I formed, both new and old, were so ultimately satisfying. Being able to finally express myself in ways I could've only dreamed was equally satisfying. I mean, heck, I basically walked up to my **teacher** and admitted I found her drop-dead gorgeous. That alone made me feel incredibly liberated. I got to learn how much fun the people around me were - like Talia and Elizabeta, and even Jennifer.  
  
I then wondered if I actually deserved all this.  
  
There was no doubt within me that my incredible powers brought about incredible confidence. But ... was that a side-effect of the powers or was that always inside of me all along? Did I really deserve to feel, I dunno, this lucky? I suppose luck can happen to anyone. Then again, it wasn't luck that I managed to be charming and entertaining enough for Eve to enjoy talking to me. It wasn't luck that I stood up to Jason and got him to back off of putting his hands on Nora. Could I really say I 'won the lottery' out of this? Maybe this was some sort of evolution for me.  
  
So where the hell did mysterious men in black robes fit into this evolution?  
  
My powers couldn't have just come out of nowhere. What if these mysterious guys ... _gave_ them to me? Maybe they're like a 'Justice League' or something and I'm some kind of new superhero they want to recruit. Then again, I did feel that I got an overwhelmingly negative vibe from them.  
  
Then, I gasped with an almost child-like wonder sparkling in my eyes. Maybe they were _supervillains_ I had to take down! I curiously stroked my chin and got goosebumps at the very idea. I bet I'd need a cape and some kind of spandex suit to wear. ... Nah. Maybe the cape part, though. Capes _are_ pretty awesome.  
  
I then carelessly threw the paper ball to the side, managing to hit the wall like a backboard to sink it into the trash. I sat up on the edge of my bed with a content sigh. Overall, maybe this evolution was meant to make me a better person. I certainly _felt_ better - both physically and spiritually. I felt better about everything and everyone around me. I managed to overcome the temptation to brag about my powers and everything I'd accomplished in such a short amount of time. I managed to stay true to myself in the face of fear, anger, sadness and confusion. I managed to get past the rough spots and come out better than before.  
  
I could've caused **so** much havoc and chaos with any of my newfound powers, yet I chose not to. That's not what I wanted. I wanted to continue to be the guy with the secret superpowers and not have to just use them for personal gain or flaunt over it like an arrogant jerk. I enjoyed being me. Because, in the end, that's all I really had.  
  
  
The rest of the week rolled on by and, finally, the weekend had come. With the weekend also came the start of the winter break, so I was rolling on high spirits. I was thankful to take a break from school and get a couple weeks off to just do anything I wanted. Thanks to my powers, 'anything I wanted' entailed _literally_ anything. First thing was first, however, and that was to get some well-deserved rest in. I woke up nice and late like I liked to do on Saturdays and just soak up the satisfying feeling of having to do nothing at all.  
  
I loafed around in bed for a good while, just letting my brain rot to the Saturday morning shows I always watched. I then decided to get up and head to the bathroom to brush my teeth. It was late enough in the morning that I decided to just have a big lunch as my first meal of the day. I hopped on the computer and chatted with my friends to catch up with the latest goings-on of the internet. I checked the time, noticing it was a little past noon. I walked away to go put on a bathingsuit and some sunscreen. I was going to head out to the pool for a while and just chill out in the water. Aside from the fact that I always loved going to the pool, I was getting a funny sense in my head urging me to go out there. I shrugged, figuring it was better to listen to my superhuman senses by that point.  
  
  
I slipped on some sandals and made my trek out the door, down the hall, and out onto the pool deck. It was always really convenient to have the pool deck on the same floor I lived on. It was warm out, sunny and with a mostly clear sky. A perfect day to go swimming. As I strode on down to the pool itself, I noticed the shouting of a young girl. The voice was grating, almost yappy and yet oddly familiar.  
  
" **¡Mami!** " I heard her call out " **¡Mami!!** " Once I was close enough, my eyes nearly popped out of my head in surprise. It was Elizabeta, of all people. I set down my towel and slipped off my sandals at an empty table under the shade of one of the awnings.  
  
"Hey, I recognize that shrieking voice," I said as I casually walked up to the pool's steps. She turned to me with an annoyed, huffy look on her face. That expression quickly turned to surprise just as mine did when she recognized me.  
  
"Oh, my god!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?!"  
  
"I live here," I replied, stepping down into the perfectly tempered water of the pool's shallow end with her. "Just felt like hanging out in the pool for a bit."  
  
"Wow," she remarked, sitting down on the steps while I began to wade around in the water. "Damn, that's a coincidence. Good timing."  
  
"I'd say," I said with a chuckle. "So, what brings you here?"  
  
"I came with my mom to visit some old friend of hers or whatever. She said there was a pool here so I said 'Hell yeah, I'm in.' Not in those words, of course. She hates it when I swear."  
  
I laughed as I idly floated in a seated position with my legs out.  
  
"Oh, if she could hear what my ears have heard."  
  
She grinned, gritting her teeth almost threateningly behind it. She tried to intimidate me by floating closer to me.  
  
"But you're not going to tell her, because I'll break your fucking shins. Right?"  
  
"Comprende," I replied with a slight smile. I couldn't argue against someone as tough as her.  
  
"Bueno," she said, easing back a bit and smirking arrogantly. "Looks like that dumb little Spanish class you have is working out. Taught you at least one word."  
  
"One word more than what I knew before," I stated.  
  
  
She shook her head in disbelief.  
  
"Still can't believe I ran into you anywhere outside of school. It's pretty cool." She then idly looked over my chest as I stood up for a moment. "You didn't tell me you work out."  
  
I had to actually refresh myself on my new physique, looking down at the water rolling gently down my abs.  
  
"Oh, well, you know. ... Gotta keep in shape."  
  
She humphed in intrigue. "Well, you have a pretty good shape. Not a very _big_ shape, but ... it's nice. It works for your shortness."  
  
I scoffed. "Uhh, last time I checked, you're shorter than me."  
  
"Oh yeah?" she threateningly asked, quickly making her way up to me.  
  
"Yeah!" I shot back, grinning at her. She suddenly leapt up and used all of her weight to push me down under the water. I laughed under the water and easily fought my way back up to the surface.  
  
"Now who's shorter?!" she exclaimed as she stood tall over me.  
  
  
Well, there was no way I was going to let that one slide. She shrieked when I suddenly pulled her legs out from under her, causing her to splash down.  
  
" **Hey!** " she shouted in a rage, angrily splashing me as I laughed. "Ugh! I was trying to keep my hair dry, you pendejo!"  
  
"You fired the first shot," I replied with a big grin. "I just returned fire." She growled as she briefly wrung some of the water out of her long, sable hair. She shook her hair around and then folded her arms across her chest. I continued to grin at her, which caused her sour expression to gently lighten up.  
  
"You know," she said as she sat down on the steps again, "I don't remember you being so ... _fun_. Usually you just like to keep to yourself, papi. Lately you've been pretty fucking awesome."  
  
I was humbled by the fact that she actually gave me words of praise for once - in her own, unique way.  
  
"Just trying to break out and let loose more," I explained. She smiled in response.  
  
"Dawg, I like it."  
  
"Oh, I'm your dawg now?" I asked with intrigue. She watched me as I began to slowly drift from one side of the shallow end to the other.  
  
"Yeah, maybe like a little, short one, ya' know. Like a chihuahua."  
  
  
I smirked as she laughed at her own joke.  
  
"I'll let it slide cause we've known each other for a while."  
  
She gasped softly. "We seriously _have_ though. It's almost scary. I remember in middle school you were ... pretty fucking crazy, actually. I liked hanging out with you for a little while."  
  
"Yeah, but then you traded me in for better friends."  
  
"Yeah man, I'm sorry about that. I realize I made a mistake there. I was pretty fucking crazy myself, you know that."  
  
"Very crazy," I responded, both of us grinning. "I still thought you were super cute, though. ... I still do."  
  
Her grin suddenly got a lot bigger, snickering almost in embarrassment. "I think you're cute, too, papi. It's nice having you around. And, by the way, they weren't better friends." I was humbled by her remark, nodding in thanks. "Hey, remember in middle school we had history class in that big auditorium thing?"  
  
I let out a quick, boisterous laugh. "Oh, yeah. I had a _lot_ of fun in that class."  
  
"I remember you used to shout 'Hey!' really loud and the teacher would get so pissed and look around to see who did that."  
  
"I got caught a few times, too," I recalled with a casual shrug. "Still didn't make it any less fun."  
  
"I thought it was pretty funny," she also recalled, smiling.  
  
She continually surprised me with how ... friendly she was being. It was a different side of her that I didn't get to enjoy all that much. But at that moment, I was soaking it up.  
  
  
I then recalled my own memory. "I remember, one time this year, you walked into one of the desks real gracefully and went 'Ow, my boobie!'"  
  
"Yeah, man! That shit hurt!"  
  
"Aww, I would've massaged it for you."  
  
She was surprised at first, her lips curling into a devious grin.  
  
"Ohh, and you're _naughty_ , too?" she curiously asked.  
  
"Does that include being a little turned on afterward when you were just holding your boobs in both arms?"  
  
"Yes, it does," she replied with a laugh. "And **why** does that turn you on anyway?"  
  
"Because, well, you have these... perfect little breasts," I explained, surprising her some more. "They're so round and look so squeezable. Like they'd fit in my hand perfectly."  
  
She scoffed in frustration. "Fuck, I don't understand guys and **why** they find boobs so hot. You have no idea how fucking annoying they are to live with, man."  
  
"They're still **really** nice," I replied with a casual smirk.  
  
She looked around for a moment before biting her lip and silently slipping into the pool. She looked at me as she slowly approached me with a hesitant question. "... You want to touch them?"  
  
Now, **I** was the one who was surprised. "Are you serious?"  
  
"Yeah, no one's watching. Go for it."  
  
  
She seemed pretty insistent, even a little curious and excited. I flicked my head to the side and grinned, unable to resist the invitation. I let my hands float through the water to close the gap between us. There was a bit of initial surprise on both our parts when my hands gently took hold of her breasts through the cups of her nylon top. Our eyes then met and suddenly, both of us broke out into a quiet laugh. She kept an enthused smile upon her face as I began to slowly grope and massage them.  
  
"They **are** squeezable," I quietly remarked. "I'll give you that."  
  
"You're _so_ bad," she replied, keeping her voice low.  
  
"And what does that make you for enabling me?" I playfully retorted.  
  
She grinned from ear to ear, enthralled to be doing something so naughty. Then again, that **was** her style. I rubbed her hardening nipples through her top with the sides of my thumbs, listening to her quietly sigh and mewl in pleasure. The two of us looked around at the other people in the pool.  
  
Somehow, our bodies began to slowly drift towards the wall behind her, out of sight of the others nearby. She bit her lip and idly glanced up at the balcony where her madre was staying. I felt her heart skip a beat in the fear that she was being watched. I looked up with her and realized there was no one there. She smirked as she looked back at me before I started to get more touchy and feely with her under the water.  
  
I then drew a quiet gasp of surprise out of her as my hands slid under her top, grabbing her bare breasts and massaging my fingers deep into her darkly tanned flesh. Her expression turned a little more serious and a little more exhilarated. She gasped again when I took hold of her nipples between my fingers and gently twisted them. Then, I eased toward her and planted a gentle kiss upon her lips. She sighed happily as she kissed me back, our lips popping as I pulled away from her.  
  
  
"Damn," she exhaled. "You're pretty good."  
  
"You haven't seen how good yet," I deviously replied as my hand traveled down to her thigh, caressing it.  
  
"Stop it," she grinned and pulled my hand away, "someone's going to _see_ us."  
  
"I can't help it. You're too cute not to touch."  
  
She grinned from ear to ear as she shook her head in disbelief.  
  
"Down, boy," she commanded, pushing me away and straightening her top. "Stay. Heel."  
  
I clicked my tongue. "If you keep treating me like a dog, I might start humping your leg,"  
  
"God, you are so **bad!** " she quietly exclaimed. "You're corrupting my _innocence_!"  
  
" **You?** Innocent?" I asked in bemusement.  
  
"Damn you," she whispered as she playfully shoved me away. Then, she stood up and began to head back over to the stairs. "I'm going to lay in the sun for a while. You can join me if you want."  
  
"Do I get to lay on top of you?" I asked, following behind her. She turned to me with a smirk.  
  
"I hate you so much," she replied, causing me to laugh as we stepped out of the pool.  
  
Ultimately, it turned out that deciding to lay down with her was one of the best decisions I ever made...


	14. Elizabeta

Elizabeta sat down on one of the pool's many lounge chairs. She reached down into a small canvas bag on the ground next to her and pulled out a bottle of suntan oil. She then reclined onto the chair and began to apply the oil to her arms.  
  
"You're putting suntan on?" I asked with a slight smirk as I sat on the chair next to hers. "Aren't you tanned enough?"  
  
"Of course not," she casually remarked. She then glanced over at me and grinned. "You can use this after I'm done with it."  
  
"Nah, I'll pass," I replied with a slight chuckle.  
  
She sized me up with an unimpressed look. "You could really use it."  
  
"But then you wouldn't recognize me," I playfully countered.  
  
She laughed. "Good point, papi. I need to put my sunglasses on just to see you."  
  
I smirked and shook my head. "Very cute."  
  
She playfully stuck her tongue out at me while putting on a pair of sunglasses. She then made herself comfortable and laid back on the chair.  
  
  
Of course, I couldn't help myself from gazing over at her body beautifully shimmering in the sun. She was so lovely and enticing in that relaxed pose she was in. I then saw a smile creep across her lips.  
  
"See anything you like?" she softly asked.  
  
"You caught me," I replied with a cheeky grin. She turned her head to me.  
  
"You're being pretty honest with yourself lately," she remarked. "... I like that."  
  
"Honesty _is_ the best policy, right?"  
  
"Damn right," she replied. "You better not lie around **me**."  
  
"I wouldn't dream of it," I said, deciding to recline on the chair myself. She continued to keep her gaze affixed to me for a moment while I calmly gazed up at the blue sky.  
  
She then spoke up. "Speaking of honesty ..."  
  
"Hmm?" I curiously uttered, turning my head to her.  
  
"I want to be honest with you about something," she said while rolling onto her side towards me. She certainly had my attention with that remark. "Back in middle school, when we used to hang. ... I used to have a small crush on you." My eyes widened a bit in intrigue. "I feel like a real perra for admitting that to you since I don't feel the same way now. ... I still think you're an awesome guy to hang with, though."  
  
"Thanks," I said with a smile. It was always nice to be complimented, especially by someone who's usually as tough as her. Now that I thought about it, she'd never really been open with her feelings with me before. I thought it was only appropriate to return the favor since the mood was already set. "I think you're pretty awesome, too."  
  
The two of us grinned at each other for a moment before she calmly rolled onto her back and rested her head on the lounge chair once again with a content sigh. It must've been pretty relieving for her to get that off of her chest. I had been learning that myself with the numerous times I'd professed my otherwise well-kept feelings over the past couple of weeks. I found myself eyeing her body once again before deciding I might as well get something off my chest, too.  
  
  
"I want to tell you a secret," I said. She quickly turned her head to me.  
  
"Oh, shit," she said with upset in her voice. "Please don't tell me you're actually gay."  
  
"No," I quickly rebuked with a slight grin. I knew she was screwing with me, especially since she laughed right afterward. "You get right to the point, don't you?"  
  
"It's what makes me so adorable," she innocently replied. "So, what do you want to tell me?"  
  
"All right, now don't freak out," I said, causing her to become quite serious, "... but I can freeze time. Like, stop it completely."  
  
She was silent at first, her jaw hanging down slightly. She then began to chortle, followed by a loud, boisterous laugh. I just laid there and smiled, waiting patiently as she got the initial skepticism out of her system.  
  
"Damn, that was a good one," she said between laughs. "You had me going there, papi. Nice job."  
  
"I'm being one-hundred percent serious," I calmly replied. Her eyebrows quirked curiously.  
  
"Sure you are," she said with a smirk.  
  
This always seems to happen, doesn't it? It's like people can't just **believe** a guy when he tells them he has a surreal superpower. Well, I was going to have to make her into yet another believer.  
  
  
With the blink of an eye, everything around us came to an instant halt. Elizabeta curiously rubbed her ear and looked around when all the sound suddenly died out.  
  
"What the fuck?" she wondered aloud. "Did everyone drown? Why's it so quiet?"  
  
"I stopped time," I said, causing her to turn to me with a disconcerted look. "Well, you didn't believe me, so I figured it was better to show you." She continued to stare at me until I sighed and smiled. "Come on," I said as I sat up and got to my feet. She took of her sunglasses and put them away before cautiously getting to her feet as well.  
  
I led the very skeptical Elizabeta over to the group of people that were hanging out by the deeper end of the pool. She suddenly gasped upon seeing them immobile. Even the ripples in the water around them were still in place. She just stood there in confusion.  
  
"What...?" she uttered. "No way. This can't be for **real**. You told these people to do this."  
  
I shook my head. "Try to move something," I told her. "Anything, like a chair or a table or something."  
  
Elizabeta curiously reached out to the nearest chair and immediately found it was very solidly in place.  
  
"This is ... what the ..." She quickly moved from chair to chair, realizing every one of them was as immovable as the last. "Holy shit," she quietly remarked as she looked at me with startled eyes. "I can't even think right now."  
  
"It takes some getting used to," I casually replied.  
  
"How do you even get used to this?!" she shouted as she walked back up to me, almost confrontational. I took a step back in surprise. "Holy shit, you're like one of those crazy-ass comic book guys that do shit like this all the time like it's normal!"  
  
"You want to sit back down?" I calmly asked.  
  
"Yes!" she exclaimed, panting as she'd become flustered.  
  
I nodded and calmly led her back over to her lounge chair which she plopped down and laid upon with all her weight. Luckily for her, I had made it so the stretchy straps on the chair were still mobile. Obviously a detail as miniscule as that didn't even cross her mind. She seemed pretty dazed by what was happening.  
  
  
I sat beside her for a few minutes, watching her as she blankly stared up at the sky. Once she finally got her bearings, she looked over at me with a shake of her head.  
  
"Well," she spoke, sounding much calmer than before, "that's the last time I won't take you serious."  
  
"Are you okay?" I asked with a slight smirk.  
  
"I'm sitting in the middle of ... fucking 'time-stop world,'" she remarked before sarcastically adding, "Yeah, I'm **great!** "  
  
I nodded. It was easy for me to understand that this was really overwhelming for her. I'd placed her in a situation she wasn't anywhere near ready to digest.  
  
"I can turn it back to normal if you want."  
  
"No," she quickly replied. "I can handle this. You seem pretty cool about it, so ... I'll be cool, too."  
  
She inhaled and exhaled slowly, almost as though in a meditation. I smiled, trying not to laugh.  
  
  
I then told her, "It's just that you were, you know, being honest with me about how you used to feel about me. So, I decided to be honest with you ... with this."  
  
She let out one last quiet sigh before opening her eyes to look at me.  
  
"How did you even do this?" she asked with concern. "Did you fall into nuclear waste or some shit?"  
  
"I wish I **had** an explanation," I said. "I just woke up one morning and ... I could stop time."  
  
She shook her head in disbelief. "What the fuck," she remarked, baffled. She then took a moment to think the situation over. "You could totally do anything you want, though. You could, like, ... go rob stores and shit and nobody would ever know."  
  
"Well–"  
  
"You could rob a bank!" she exclaimed. "Holy shit, you could run in there when the safe is open and just take all the money you want! Or you could go into people's houses and just act like you own the place. Damn, that's awesome. You can have any house you want as your own."  
  
I was a bit taken aback by how eagerly unlawful she would've been.  
  
"I don't want to do any of that stuff, though," I quietly replied.  
  
"Damn," she said, sucking her teeth. "I would do that shit in a second. Literally, I could stop time and then be at the bank like a second later." She then took a good look at me. She thought for a brief moment before smirking. "You've always been way too honest, though. ... I like that about you. Seriously."  
  
"Thanks," I replied, grinning a bit.  
  
She jokingly remarked, "I guess that's why you have this power and I don't."  
  
"I don't know why I even have it," I replied. "But I want to make the best of it."  
  
  
Elizabeta then sat next to me and I scooted over a bit to accommodate her. We smiled at each other for a quick moment before she stared up at the sky.  
  
"Not even the clouds are moving," she remarked, causing me to look up as well. "This is some crazy shit."  
  
"Yeah, it is pretty crazy," I said as we looked at each other again. "But, like I said, I've gotten used to it."  
  
Suddenly, her eyes lit up as she was struck with an idea. "Hey, if time is stopped and we're the only two who can do stuff ... doesn't that mean we can do anything we want?"  
  
"Well, yeah. I'm not going to help you break into someone's house, though."  
  
"Damn, he's on to me," she joked, the two of us sharing a chuckle. "Actually ... I was thinking that you and I could totally keep messing around like we did a little while ago."  
  
Now, _my_ eyes lit up. "Oh, you **want** to mess around with me?"  
  
"Hell yeah, I do," she replied as she edged closer to me, looking at each other with a couple of eager grins between us.  
  
And then, she placed her hands on my shoulders and leaned in towards me to share another kiss.  
  
  
We took the time to let our lips got more acquainted with one another. She sighed happily, quickly straightening her back when I put my arms around her. She put a hand behind my head, insistently pulling me closer to her. I was a little surprised by her gall, but this _was_ Elizabeta I was dealing with. I happily went with the flow as she moaned and shoved her lips as deep as they would go into my own. We were pretty much sucking face at that point. I couldn't complain at all, though. Not with how wonderful her soft, plush lips felt clamped around my own.  
  
After a short time of deep, aggressive making out, Elizabeta's lips loudly popped as she pulled away with a deep sigh. Both of us took a moment to catch our breath and just stare longingly at one another. She then grinned and giggled in the small reprieve between kisses. I knew she was getting excited when she shifted even closer to me. She brushed my cheek with her other hand, starting to gaze much more deeply at me with those bright, jade eyes of hers.  
  
She whispered, "All those old feelings I had for you. ... They're starting to come back."  
  
Needless to say, I was thrilled to hear her say that. To think that **she** had the hots for **me** was elating. I didn't get to enjoy that feeling for very long, though. She eagerly shoved me back onto the lounge chair with both hands, grinning happily as she crawled atop me and quickly kissed me for a brief moment. As I let my legs lay flat on the chair, she sat up on my lap. Her eyes were lit up with an ambitious desire, purring softly as her oiled hands rubbed my chest and stomach in infatuation.  
  
I laid back and watched Elizabeta reach behind her back, untie her top, and toss it aside. She then took my hands and placed them over her bare breasts. I wasted not a second before I began massaging them deeply, drawing a quick moan of pleasure from her. She kept her hands upon my own, idly grinding her crotch against mine, her jaw hanging as she panted in excitement. She amazed me - I had to let her know that.  
  
  
"Elizabeta," I spoke, "you turn me on so much."  
  
"It goes both ways, papi," she softly replied with a huge grin. "You're so fucking hot..."  
  
I grinned a bit at her remark. I couldn't have imagined I'd ever hear those words spill from her lips - it was music to my ears. Her hands slid up my arms, coming to a rest on my shoulders. She moaned deeply as she grinded harder on me, all while I mashed my fingers deeper into her soft breasts. I was so very, very hard by then and I was certain she knew that as she rhythmically rubbed her sex along the length of my penis.  
  
"I want you to fuck me," Elizabeta panted. "I want you ... to be my first." My eyes widened a bit in amazement. She was a virgin, too? I didn't think it could've gotten anymore amazing. "Do me, papi. Do me..."  
  
Listening to her plead with me for sex was a rush like I'd never felt before. I knew there was no uncertainty within her; no point in asking if she wanted to back out. There definitely wasn't any in me, either.  
  
"Well, since you asked so nicely ...," I replied, trying to be cute in the midst of our heat.  
  
She grinned for a brief moment before leaning in to let our lips unite in a wet, sloppy kiss. As I put my arms around her back, both of us were already starting to sweat. In the midst of our wild kiss, she placed her feet by my head to pull her tiny swimsuit bottom down her thighs. I helped in removing the garment which was heading right for my face. Our kiss broke for just a moment as I yanked it down her ankles and then tossed it aside.  
  
Elizabeta's posture gave me a good glimpse of her bare pussy for just a quick moment. It also gave me a good idea of just how flexible she was. Folded up like an accordion atop me, she suddenly dove in for my neck like a hungry vampire out for blood. We both moaned softly as she kissed around my neck. She then latched deeply into my flesh and sucked hard upon it in a way that made the air escape my lungs and drop my jaw in awe.  
  
It was the first time anyone ever gave me an actual hickey. Though startling, I couldn't say I didn't like it.  
  
  
She grinned, happy with herself as she leaned back to take a look at the mark I knew she'd left there upon my neck. I didn't have time to reflect on what it looked like before she placed her feet on the ground and slid back to just above my knees. She grinned mischievously at me as she slowly, steadily pulled down my bathingsuit and freed my elongated, pulsing manhood. I helped out once again by kicking it aside once it was past my knees.  
  
"Oh, shit," she breathily remarked as she stared at my erect penis. "You're so hard..."  
  
"Can you blame me?" I teased.  
  
Her grin spread even wider as she looked at me for a moment. She turned her attention back to my shaft, cupping her soft, oiled hands around it and began to slowly stroke me in both hands. I laid back with a lustful sigh and let her take care of the work for the time being. She panted with increasing excitement, unable to look away from my fleshy rod. I groaned sharply when she wrapped one hand very tightly around it, jerking me hard. That pressure was incredible, drawing deep groans and sighs of pleasure out of me. She swallowed hard, running her free hand through her hair. Her bright eyes stared, almost unblinking, down upon my sex. She'd started to tremble with anticipation.  
  
"God ...," she breathed. "I'm **so** wet right now. ... I want you so bad ..."  
  
I strained through the pleasure to reply, "It goes both ways."  
  
  
Elizabeta couldn't wait any longer. Our eyes locked for a moment while she maneuvered her thick folds over my penis, which she continued to grip tightly. I was more than welcoming toward her impatience. She panted, eager, while grinding the underside of my shaft between her swollen petals. Both of us moaned together in response, sitting right there on the verge of unity. Her panting was so intense by the time she slowly guided the tip into her hungry opening.  
  
My jaw dropped and I groaned intensely as her tight muscles began to pull me inside of her belly. She moaned and bit her lip as she focused all of her attention into impaling herself upon me as gently as possible. Helped along by the suntan oil and her fluids, I slid with ease into her heat. She gasped sharply as we both felt the stretchy barrier break around my entry. Her walls contracted so hard around me, making that first moment inside her so much more excruciatingly pleasant.  
  
Elizabeta planted her hands firmly on my chest, while my own hands traveled up her thighs and sides. She began to move her body up and down my manhood in a slow, jerky rhythm. I sighed sharply, holding onto her hips as her muscles sucked and contracted around me. She panted heavily, her eyes staring intensely into my own. Her facial expression looked as if to say 'this is really happening.'  
  
  
"Ohh, my god," she moaned. "I had no idea this would feel so **good**..."  
  
"You don't have to tell **me** that..."  
  
She snickered briefly before letting her jaw hang down, panting and moaning as her hips bucked a little harder and more rhythmically. We bounced in time together, thanks in part to the stretchy straps of the lounge chair absorbing the full impact of our weight. I watched her trembling body bouncing up and down upon me. She shimmered like a bronze goddess in the stale sunlight. I was still very content to letting her do all the work. It was a tense relaxation.  
  
Elizabeta's inner muscles settled down for the most part, keeping a tight grip around my very sensitive organ. We moaned at each other, both of us squirming as pleasure flooded our young bodies. My toes were very firmly curled from the relentless state of bliss she was keeping me in. It was the first time I'd ever been rode upon. Not being in control of the pace made it harder to keep my climax in check - especially with how amazing it felt to be inside of her.  
  
Elizabeta, that rogue girl that always had foul mouth and a temper that I'd always found so oddly enticing. I was really sharing the intimate passion of sex with her right at that moment in time.  
  
  
"Aii! Aii!" she began exclaiming whilst hungrily shoving her hips down upon my own. The plastic of the chair creaked as she panted and perspired profusely. Her body snaked and jerked her head back several times, panting hard and crying out in ecstasy. Then, she looked down at me, her eyes filled with lust and enthrallment.  
  
"Ohh, fuck...! I'm cu-cumming, Anthony!"  
  
I found myself unusually spellbound by that statement due to the piercing gaze in her bright green eyes. She then squeezed them shut, groaning loud, biting down on her lip as her body rhythmically slammed down and quaked hard against me. We both groaned in astonishment until she slowly ceased movement and sound, hunching over and grabbing my shoulders tight. I watched her open her mouth wide, a silent cry escaping her lips, her face twisted into an expression of strained pleasure. Elizabeta's body jerked hard a few times as she gushed fluid down my shaft, finally letting out a long, drawn-out groan of relieved ecstasy.  
  
I calmly sat up, putting my arms around her. In her daze, she managed to do the same to me, letting her teeth rest in the meat of my shoulder as she groaned and panted heavily to catch her breath. After a moment, she slowly looked up at me, her eyes sparkling in amazement.  
  
"I'm not done ... yet," she softly said. "I know you ain't, either. ... I want you to ... to give it to me."  
  
"With pleasure," I quietly replied, much to her excitement.  
  
  
We shared a brief kiss as I hooked an arm underneath her butt. I carried her off with me as I got to my feet, not letting the union of our sex break just yet. Making love in the water had always been a huge fantasy of mine. Now that I had the chance, I couldn't help but take it.  
  
She was completely willing to go along with me for the ride as I neared the the pool. I immediately made the water mobile again just as my feet touched down on the steps. I made sure not to make the people residing in it mobile as well. I got down into the water just enough to cover our lower bodies.  
  
There, I gazed into Elizabeta's eyes with an eagerness that tacitly told her to hold on tighter to me - which she did. I then resumed our rhapsody as I began to rhythmically push my hips into her own.  
  
"Oh, yes!" she remarked in awe. "God, I wanted you to fuck me for so long...!"  
  
Just hearing her say that invigorated me enough to really start shoving the entire length of my shaft inside of her belly. She threw her head back, the corners of her lips curled into a wide smile as I happily thrusted away into her.  
  
I held her a little tighter, both of us carelessly making love almost in front of the frozen spectators. The entire body of water reverberated all around us with each eager punch of my hips into her own. The splashing and our mutual voices in euphoria only got more wild with my increasingly intense pounding. We panted together, lost in glorious ecstasy, our bodies a mix of sweat, water and sun oil.  
  
"Yes, Anthony! Yes! Give me that cock! **Ahh~!** "  
  
I was nearing the edge of my climax. I started to walk towards the steps, both of us emerging from the water. Her body clung tighter to me in response, and I started giving it to her as deep and as fast as I could. I should've been able to hold out longer, but I was so very turned on that I didn't want to hold back. Her tiny body writhing and crumpling against me, her intense squeals and that gorgeous look in her eyes every single time she looked at me all within the otherwise prohibited confines of the pool - I was overwhelmed by it all.  
  
"Ohh, yes!" she cried. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! You're the best!! You're the best in the whole world!!"  
  
  
I groaned and panted hard, drilling into the depths of Elizabeta's tight walls with reckless abandon. Her body tensed and twisted, the incessant hammering of my hips helping her to reach her climax for a second time. She let out a loud, rapturous cry that told me everything I needed to know about how incredible it was for her. I couldn't wait any longer in the midst of her own orgasm. I quickly pulled out, shuddering and exhaling sharply as I used a hand to ejaculate upon her darkly tan flesh.  
  
She couldn't help but watch my moment of splendrous satisfaction. Her body continued to convulse while she stared in amazement at the sight of me spilling my hot seed all over her chest and belly.  
  
And then, our bodies slowly began to relax. Both of us were exhausted. Our jaws hung down as we panted heavily. A few moments later, I looked up at her, and she looked up at me. She panted quietly, both of us grinning at each other after a job well done. She then closed her eyes and rested her head on my shoulder. I sat down on the top step, letting her sit down across my thighs, her legs draped over my own.  
  
"I don't want to move at all from here," she quietly said. "Please ... don't make me move. I feel so ... comfortable right now."  
  
"We can stay here for as long as you like," I replied.  
  
"Good," she replied, settling in deeper into my shoulder with a smile. "If you said anything other than that, I would've killed you." I grinned, always charmed by her attitude.  
  
  
I watched the deep ripples in the pool coming to a slow halt. The water was also settling down after our turbulent commingling. She held firmly to me, continuing to slowly squirm in delight as she rode out her post-coitus high. Her dark, wet hair was messily tossed all around her face. It was so refreshing to see her in such a serene, fragile state.  
  
Elizabeta looked up at me. Her green eyes sparkled from the aftershocks of a mystifying experience.  
  
"Are you okay?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah," she whispered. "I'd say I'm pretty damn good." I grinned and nodded.  
  
"Good. Why don't we go get showered?"  
  
"Sounds good."  
  
I held her hand as we slowly got to our feet together. Once we stepped out of the water, her legs suddenly wobbled a little bit. We both laughed quietly as I held her up with an arm around her waist and headed to the outdoor showers. We both pulled down on our respective chains to let the water wash down upon us. We sighed happily, unable to stop staring and grinning at one another. The physical elements of our union may have been washed away, but the memory would certainly remain forever.  
  
  
Afterward, we both headed back to the lounge chairs to put back what little clothing we had on our bodies. I couldn't help but notice how unusually quiet she was. It wasn't like the loudmouthed Elizabeta I was so accustomed to. She continued to carry a sparkle of wonder in her eyes as she tied her swimwear onto her body.  
  
"Are you gonna say something?" I curiously asked.  
  
She quietly laughed, adjusting the cups of her top. She gave her response in the form of a kiss. We wrapped our arms tightly around one another, engaging in a deep, meaningful kiss. It lasted a good couple of minutes. Neither of us felt like we wanted to stop.  
  
Once it finally did, she sighed happily as she looked up at me.  
  
"Mmm, the way you kiss me feels so good...," she remarked.  
  
"It goes both ways, Elizabeta," I replied with a sly grin. She chuckled.  
  
"You know, there's a reason why I've been calling you 'papi' for a little while now."  
  
"Why's that?" I asked, genuinely curious of that.  
  
"It's because ..." she trailed off before turning away with an embarrassed grin. "It's so stupid."  
  
"Come on, tell me," I prodded. She sighed heavily, shifting her eyes back at me as she smirked. She thought about it for a moment before explaining further.  
  
"I really ... wanted to fuck around with you, ... like we did just now." I found that quite surprising. "I wanted to do it with you for a while. Even if it was just for ... five seconds, ten seconds - cause I didn't expect you to last longer than that." I grinned and shook my head as she laughed. "But I've just actually been **really** horny for you. I dunno why, maybe I was just curious. I'm satisfied with what we did, though. I don't regret it at all."  
  
"Neither do I."  
  
  
After another intimate yet brief kiss, the two of us then sat down on our respective chairs. She reached out and grabbed my hands, if nothing else just to hold them for a little while. I reciprocated and held hers. We must've sat there for several minutes, our hands holding, just smiling and laughing at points. It was like satisfying a great, mutual need for us both. I think she was just relieved she finally went through with it. I know **I** was. Then, she looked up again at the motionless clouds.  
  
"So," she spoke, "how long can you make it stay like this?"  
  
"I never really ... **timed** it or anything. But I assume I can make it stay this way forever."  
  
"Forever, huh?" she asked, looking at me once again. "You don't want to live in a world like this forever, right?"  
  
"No. It's really not very fun at all."  
  
"Good," she said with relieved sigh. "I don't want to miss a second with you."  
  
I grinned from ear to ear. "Listen to you being sentimental," I teased her. "It's so cute."  
  
She frowned angrily. "Shut up, pendejo."  
  
"Now that's more like it," I replied, laughing as she shook her head in annoyance.  
  
  
I then brought her hand up to my lips and kissed it gently. She smirked at me.  
  
"You're a sweet guy," she remarked. "It's ... nice to have someone like you around who doesn't have to stomp around acting like a prick like most of the guys in school. Refreshing, you know?"  
  
"You're a breath of fresh air, too," I said, piquing her interest. "You don't feel like you need to act girly to be a girl."  
  
She humphed in amusement. "Damn right," she replied. She then sighed heavily as she took another look around our static surroundings. "Well, I just got kind of ... 'timesick.' You think you can turn this shit back to normal now?"  
  
"Sure," I nodded. "You and I should probably lie down on the chairs like we were when I stopped time."  
  
"... It's so weird," she said in disbelief as she laid down on her chair, "to hear you actually say you can do that and to know ... that it's for real."  
  
"Yeah, it's pretty insane," I stated as I, too, laid back on my chair. "But it's my new normal."  
  
"I guess, after that talk we had, better you than me. After all, I'd just use that power to fuck with people. You use it to actually _fuck_ people."  
  
I shook my head and reiterated, "Very funny." She chuckled in response.  
  
  
Then, after the two of us had taken our places laying back down on the lounge chairs before I resumed time once more.  
  
"Wow," was the first thing uttered from her lips. "I never realized how noisy it was out here."  
  
"You get used to it," I replied with a casual shrug. She then looked over at me, smiling with such enthusiasm like I'd never seen before from her.  
  
"Thank you ... for one hell of a time," she said. I nodded to her with a smile of my own. "Now, I'm exhausted as hell. I think I'm just gonna sunbathe for a while."  
  
"And I'll probably just going to burn," I replied, calmly getting to my feet. "Better get some pool time in while I still can."  
  
"Have fun. Just swim where I can keep an eye on you, young man."  
  
We both grinned once more at each other, both of us very satisfied after everything we'd shared together.  
  
  
I decided to do a few laps around the pool, all while getting in a few glances over at Elizabeta. She looked quite happy and content laying there, looking so beautiful once again glistening in the sun. At the same time, I looked around at the few people that were hanging around at the pool. I couldn't help but feel quite cheeky knowing that Elizabeta and I pretty much had sex right in front of them. Of course, they had no idea what we'd done which made it so much more satisfying.  
  
The sun was starting to get a little too high for my wimpy skin to deal with. And so, I stepped out of the pool, casually walking by Elizabeta to get my towel. As I dried myself off and put my shirt and sandals on, I walked back up to her. She looked as though she was in the middle of a very pleasant nap.  
  
"Hey there," I said, awaking her from her slumber. "Don't burn now."  
  
"Coming from you," she weakly replied with a groan. "What time is it?"  
  
I glanced over at the wall clock hanging on the awning. "About one-thirty."  
  
"Damn," she remarked as she sat up. "I should get going. My mami's gonna be on that balcony soon, yelling at me to come up anyway." She collected her belongings and stuffed them into her bag. She then got to her feet and slung it over her shoulder.  
  
"I'll walk you to the elevator."  
  
"Wow," she jokingly remarked in amazement. "How _gentlemanly_ of you. Why don't you just carry me there, too?"  
  
"I can do that," I said with a shrug. "You only weight about two pounds anyway."  
  
"You're a dick," she replied, playfully punching my arm. She then put an arm around my back, prompting me to do the same.  
  
  
I opened the door into the building for her and followed her inside. We headed toward the elevators, where she called for one to head up. She then sighed as she turned to me, smiling, placing her hands on my shoulders.  
  
"That was really amazing, papi," she remarked, both of us grinning. "I can't believe we really did that with you ... for my first time. I don't know if I should be shocked or happy about that."  
  
"Well, **I'm** happy. Isn't that all that really matters?"  
  
She quietly laughed before hugging me tightly around my neck, grinning as she rested her head on my chest. I held her in return, both of us settling into a warm embrace. I calmly stroked the length of her long, dark hair as she sighed again.  
  
"I'm glad that you're my friend," she quietly spoke, surprising me once again with that tenderness I was not used to hearing from her. "I meant all the stuff I said to you earlier."  
  
"Same here."  
  
"Oh," she said, looking up at me with a smirk, "so you **really** think I have boobies that fit perfectly in your hands?"  
  
"Of course!" I responded, shaking my head in bewilderment like that should've already been common knowledge. She laughed and pulled my head down to meet hers. We shared a brief kiss just before the elevator door opened. She pulled away from me, keeping her gaze on me as she walked backward into the elevator.  
  
"See you back in school, then," she said, holding the door open.  
  
"You definitely will," I replied with a nod. "And my arm will be ready to be your punching bag."  
  
She laughed. "Bye, Anthony."  
  
"See ya."  
  
The elevator doors closed and I was left alone once more. I smiled to myself as I calmly strutted away, departing for home feeling a million times better. It was by far the best trip to the pool I've ever had.  
  
  
After I got home, I took a good look in the bathroom mirror at that hickey Elizabeta gave me. She went all out – that thing was _really_ noticeable on the lily white canvas that was my skin. I didn't think there was any possible way for me to conceal it apart from wearing a turtleneck or putting a huge bandage on it and pretending it's a scrape. Then again, I _could_ wear it and show it off proudly like a medal of manliness. But I shrugged that idea off. I wasn't hankering to brag over it.  
  
There was still the issue of dealing with the thing, though. I curiously held my hand over the bruise, imagining what it would look like without it there. As I took my hand away, my eyes widened in surprise. The bruise had begun to rapidly heal right before my eyes until it was no more.  
  
I stood there with my jaw firmly on the floor for a good few moments. I calmly poked at the spot where the hickey once was to confirm that it was, in fact, gone. I would've thought I was going crazy, but with everything that had happened to me over the past couple of weeks, nothing seemed impossible anymore. Just then, I heard Brandon's words echo in my head after my jaw had quickly healed up from the initial fight with Jason.  
  
'You're like Wolverine with that healing factor,' he'd said to me. My lips curled into an enthused smile.  
  
"Cool," I muttered to myself.  
  
I sighed happily and then headed into the shower to wash the rest of the chlorinated water off of my body. All the while, I couldn't help but think about Elizabeta, how great she'd been, and what she'd be up to for the rest of the winter break.  
  
  
The next week was like a dream come true. It was all the pleasantness of being at home, playing video games and talking to friends that I could handle. I was totally relaxed. It caused me to feel reinvigorated and refreshed. I had all the time I'd been hoping for to really soak in the huge shifts in my life like I'd been planning to do. I had begun to feel as though my new powers were merely an extension of my thought process somehow. It became as natural to me as breathing when I'd blink time on and off again. Fortunately enough, I didn't encounter any strange visits with the black-clad mystery men. Probably because I didn't stay in the time-frozen void for very long.  
  
I got more in touch with the other, strange powers that I hadn't quite used as often. The super-strength thing didn't seem like it was that much of an issue. I attempted to lift up my bed, but had no luck. Normally, I wouldn't have been able to lift something as heavy as that. I was a little baffled at first, but then I gave it another try. I imagined that the bed weighed nothing, and that I had more than enough strength to lift it up. In doing so, I flawlessly lifted it up high over my head - with one hand, even. I grinned, pretty dang enthralled over seeing the dusty underside of my bed frame. This was going to make moving furniture a breeze from now on.  
  
A day later, I sat down and practiced my ability to materialize things before me. At first, I couldn't think of what to summon forth. So, I shrugged and started going with the first things that came to mind. I held my hands out and closed my eyes to focus on my current object of desire. The heft of glossy paper weighed down in my hands. Once I opened my eyes, a cheeky grin immediately spread across my lips. I was now the proud owner of the current December issue of Playboy magazine.  
  
What can I say? I just can't help myself.  
  
Gena Lee Nolin nude? I had no idea who she was, but I was not above happily looking at her in her birthday suit. It was totally worth it, if for nothing more than the wide eyes and the big, enthused grin on my face. As I began to flip through the pages, it occurred to me that I didn't even necessarily need to know all the details of what it was I was trying to conjure up. So long as I had a general idea of what I wanted, it would appear before me in its entirety.  
  
To be honest, I had no idea if what I was doing was considered stealing. I don't think there was any law against using superpowers to get something for free. However, I didn't feel like becoming a Playboy collector. So, I closed my eyes again and imagined the magazine gone. In an instant, it was.  
  
I then summoned a handful of random objects: a pillow, a taco and a mint condition holographic trading card. I drooled at the sight of its perfection and glory. But then, I got an overwhelming sense of guilt. There was no sense in just making these things appear. Sure, I wasn't exactly 'stealing,' per se, but what fun is there in just being handed everything? As much as it pained me, I gave a heavy sigh and tossed the card away, causing it to vanish in mid-air. The pillow was next. The taco, however, I was more than willing to eat.  
  
Hey, it was lunchtime and I was hungry.  
  
Over the next few days, I conjured and dissipated random items until it also became like second nature to me. I figured if I **have** the ability to do it, I might as well be **good** at it. There was also my ability to seemingly sense danger, but, being the usual tame person I was, there wasn't much danger around to sense. Nothing to practice with in that regard.  
  
  
Christmas came and Christmas went. Then there were the celebrations for New Year's Eve. I decided to stay out late on the beach to watch people light their fireworks and shoot them into the air. There was a _slight_ mishap with someone's roman candle where it tipped over and caused one of the fireballs to eject straight at my face. **That** was when the danger-sensing came in handy. With instinctive reflexes, I bent backwards to avoid the oncoming glow of yellow fire. The two guys that had lit the candle shouted in terror and immediately buried it into the sand.  
  
"Nice move, dude!" one of them called out to me before proceeding to cuss his friend out. I just buried my hands in my jeans pockets, shook my head and walked away from that awkward scene. I hated to think what could've happened if it was someone else other than me as the unintended target of that fireball.  
  
I was quite ecstatic watching the big ball drop on TV. Just like that, we were in 2002 - a new year had begun. I could only imagine the possibilities that awaited me in the new year with my cool, new powers. The only new year's resolution I had was to keep on using my powers responsibly. Maybe, just maybe, I could use my powers for the 'greater good.' Maybe, just maybe, I could _really_ become a superhero. But would I actually want all of that attention? Being the top story on the news, reporters flocking to my home, the questions they'd ask, government inquiries, the superhero-like collateral damage that could be caused. ... Yeah, probably not worth it.  
  
I did have one, far more tame thing to be happy about. The 2nd of the month was Tamara's birthday. Of course, I had already been invited, and that felt really nice.  
  
After getting some shut-eye for the night, I headed to the mall to get her a present. I wasn't too keen on what she was into, so I decided to use some of my saved-up money to buy her a really nice, pink blouse. I knew she liked wearing pink, and so I hoped that she'd favor my present. I had it gift-wrapped by the store - they even put a little bow on it. I wrote my name on a little tag that stuck to it and sighed proudly at the sight of it.  
  
I then spent the day mentally preparing for the party. It was the first time in a long time I'd been a **girl's** birthday party. Even though we already knew each other, I still wanted to make a good 'first impression.' I must've spent about five minutes standing in front of the mirror, practicing what I would say to different things and how I'd look saying them.  
  
And then, it dawned on me. I didn't need a script set up in my head – I just needed to be myself. After all, it **had** gotten me pretty far as of late. It could also be a good chance to see just how well I do reacting off the cuff some more. I inhaled deeply and puffed my chest out. I just needed to have the confidence in myself, and I was certain everything would work out well.  
  
  
The big day had arrived. I took a shower, put on some of my good clothes and looked myself over in the mirror. Then, I remembered that it was a pool party and slapped my forehead - I had to completely change my outfit. I went with a pair of shorts over my bathingsuit and a t-shirt I put on some sunscreen, slipped on my sandals, threw a towel over my shoulder and looked in the mirror once again. I sighed and shook my head in disbelief at how I had completely forgotten what set-up Tamara's party was. Clearly a good start so far.  
  
I grabbed Tamara's present and headed outside to wait for the city bus. It was a nice day, just a few clouds around, and subtly cool out. I was sitting on the bus bench across from an old lady. I casually glanced over at her, realizing that she'd been staring at me. She gave me an uncomfortably interested smirk which parted back her wrinkly cheeks as she looked me over. I quickly faced forward again, staring off into the distance, whimpering nervously and hoping that bus would come quick.  
  
My hopes came true as, just a couple moments later, the bus slowed to a stop before us. A handful of people got off from the back exit while the old lady slowly made her way up the steps. I had the sneaking suspicion that she was putting on a show for me by wiggling her broad hips as she stepped up. I covered my face in both hands, shaking my head and wishing that this was **not** happening to me.  
  
Fortunately enough, the old woman took a seat far in the front of the bus, while I sat somewhere in the middle. I slouched far down, keeping some guy's head in-between the line of sight of myself and her. That was a reprieve I never thought I'd ever have to be thankful for.  
  
The ride there wasn't a long one. Tamara didn't live too far away from me. The public bus was **so** much quieter and tame than the school bus. It actually made me appreciate the endless chatter a little bit more. If the school bus was like **this** every morning, I'd probably be asleep by the time I got to school.  
  
I pressed the little yellow strip on the wall to call for a stop once I was nearing her home. I had to admit, I was a little bit nervous about making that 'first impression' I'd mentioned earlier. However, I sighed sharply and nodded. I just had to remember my confidence and have fun. Once the bus stopped, I made a mad dash for the back exit, avoiding all eye contact with that salacious old woman. Once I was firmly planted on the sidewalk, the bus began to roll away.  
  
I was at the main road that led down to a small neighborhood of houses. I strolled down the sidewalk, reading each house's address in search of Tamara's. It was surprisingly quiet for a time when all the kids were still out on break. But then, I was certain I was getting close to her house when the silence gave way to music, laughing, loud chatter and yelling. I smiled a bit as I walked up to the front door. As I rang the bell, I could only hope her friends were open to newcomers.  
  
The door quickly opened and I grinned as Tamara greeted me with a surprised gasp. I couldn't help but quickly notice that she was wearing a bright, pink two-piece. I **knew** she liked pink.  
  
"You came!" she exclaimed as she happily hugged me.  
  
"Well, yeah," I replied, hugging her back with one arm. "I'm not going to leave you hanging on your birthday."  
  
"Come on in," she said, stepping to the side as I headed on in the house. "We've got chips, and dip, punch, and all sorts of stuff." She closed the door behind us, and I placed my present on the nearby table that had a handful of them stacked up already.  
  
I turned around with a smile as she looked me over.  
  
"You look like you're ready to hit the pool," she remarked with a grin.  
  
"You **did** say it was a pool party," I playfully reminded her.  
  
"And it is!" she happily exclaimed. She took me by the wrist and led me to the open sliding glass door. "Come on, I'll show you the pool."  
  
I smiled at how vivaciously bubbly she was already. Along the way, I noticed a rather portly black guy sitting at the table of snacks and really going to town on them. He was wearing regular clothing like he had no interest in any sort of pool activities. I decided to take the initiative to try and be friendly toward Tamara's friends and try to fit in a little better.  
  
"Hey," I greeted him as we passed by. He just glanced at me with disinterest before turning back to the snacks. Well, **that** could've gone better.  
  
  
Tamara led me out to the open backyard with the in-ground pool nearly filled to capacity. We both came to a stop as she prepared to introduce me. I was happy that she had so many friends, but I just kind of stood there with a mildly nervous grin. I realized that literally every one of her friends were on the complete opposite end of the skin color spectrum from me. It was hard for me not to immediately feel like the odd one out.  
  
"Hey, everyone," she spoke up, getting the attention of most of them. "This is my friend, Anthony. Anthony, my friends. I've known most of them since I was little."  
  
I smiled and reverse-nodded and grinned to them. "'Sup," I casually said. I think one of the girls waved to me for a brief second before they all went back to what they were doing. That wasn't helping the outcast situation I was having.  
  
"Don't worry," she said as she turned to me. "They're actually pretty cool. They'll see that you're cool, too, once you hang out with us for a little while."  
  
I shrugged. "All right. Sounds simple enough."  
  
"Would you like to chat for a bit? I bet they'd warm up a little bit if they see us talking."  
  
"Absolutely," I eagerly replied. She quietly laughed and then led me over to a small table with a couple of chairs and a large umbrella in the middle. She took a seat, and I followed suit on the chair across from her. I glanced over at the other kids playing around in and around the pool before turning back to her.  
  
  
"So, January 2nd, huh?" I asked her. "Must be nice not to have your birthday on the craziness of New Year's."  
  
"Yeah," she replied with a smile as she, too, looked around at the others. "My parents always joke that I'm an 'almost-New Year's baby.' It starts getting eye-rolling after a while."  
  
"Is that why they're not here?"  
  
"They decided to be super-cool and thought I was responsible enough to handle my own party. And, of course, I _totally_ am."  
  
"It's nice, though," I remarked. "You have a lot of friends. That doesn't suprise me, though."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
I then let my mind take a backseat as I replied, "Because you're beautiful."  
  
She was stunned by the sudden compliment. "Anthony ...," she muttered in surprise.  
  
"A beautiful **person** , I meant," I added, trying to make up for that stumble. I don't even know why I said that. Although I did **mean** it, I didn't mean for it to just slip out so suddenly. "Sorry, didn't mean to make things weird."  
  
She smiled warmly. "It's fine. You're really sweet. That's the whole reason I wanted you here."  
  
I nodded to her. "Glad to be here, then."  
  
"And I'm so glad you **are** here," she replied with an unexpected sense of playfulness in her voice.  
  
  
Just then, I got one of those tingly extrasensory senses and it immediately put me on high alert.  
  
"Hey, white boy!" one of the boys in the pool exclaimed. "Catch!"  
  
The foam football shot like a bullet trained on my face. I lifted a hand in an instant and caught the ball perfectly before it was going to nail me between the eyes. My reaction was so calm, like it didn't even faze me. Everyone watching was completely shocked at the inhuman speed of my reaction. I immediately realized I needed to play this one off as nothing more than a fluke.  
  
"Oh, ow!" I exclaimed, letting the ball drop and roll away as I weakly shook my wrist. "Man, that nearly broke my wrist! You gotta give me more warning next time!"  
  
The same boy scoffed as he grabbed the ball once it rolled near him. "Stupid ass white kid," he muttered.  
  
I calmly turned my attention back to Tamara. "I think your friends don't exactly like me."  
  
She sighed heavily. "I was a little afraid this would happen."  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Well...," she trailed off for a moment, awkwardly gazing at the ground. "They're my friends, sure. But ... they're more of friends of–"  
  
" **Tamara!** " a shrill voice exclaimed from inside the house. Tamara's head was blocking my view so I couldn't see who it was. "Why the hell you didn't tell me the party start at eleven?!"  
  
Oh, crap. I knew that voice from anywhere. The pitch had shifted a little bit, but it was unmistakable.  
  
  
"Hey, Latisha," some of them greeted her as she playfully strutted past them. She was wearing the exact same, pink two-piece as Tamara was. I didn't know if that was intentional or just a really odd coincidence.  
  
"Hey, girl!" Latisha squealed as she shared a one-armed hug with Tamara. "Happy birth–"  
  
And **that** was when she spotted me.  
  
"Oh, **hell** no," she remarked, placing a hand on her hip. "I thought you was joking about inviting this little midget."  
  
"Latisha...," Tamara quietly chided her friend.  
  
"Actually," I spoke up with a playful smirk, "I think I'm taller than you now."  
  
Latisha didn't like me talking to her in the least. "Boy, shut the fuck up! Ain't nobody talkin' to you!"  
  
And suddenly it occurred to me why everyone else, despite having never met me, was so hostile toward me from the get-go.  
  
  
She was shorter than Tamara, but she certainly made up for that by having a mouth twice as big. In a way, she reminded me of Elizabeta. Unlike Elizabeta, though, I never found any redeeming qualities in Latisha. She was just ... unpleasant to be around. There was no sense of cheeky enjoyment with her like there was with Jennifer, no willingness to just ignore me like Lila used to - she was just venomous toward me. I had honestly hoped that, after middle school, I would never see her ever again. She'd gone to a different high school than Tamara and myself, which was heavenly since I didn't have to worry about her exasperating attitude lurking around every corner.  
  
Latisha was **already** giving me the stink eye from speaking just one sentence to her. I figured it was best if I kept my distance.  
  
"Well," I spoke as I got up from the chair, "I'm gonna go get a soda or something."  
  
"Yeah, good," Latisha quickly said, just as quickly taking my seat. "Don't come back." I shrugged it off.  
  
"I'll talk to you in a little bit," Tamara politely said to me. I nodded to her and headed off toward the kitchen.  
  
  
There, I found the same guy still snacking away on chips to the point where they were almost gone. It was only when I walked past him to pluck a soda can out of the ice cooler on the floor did I realize he was quite heavy. I began to wonder if he actually came for the party or just for the snacks. I honestly thought he could've been the life of the party if he did a few cannonballs into the pool.  
  
I cracked open the soda and poured its contents into a plastic cup before taking a sip. The two of us glanced at each other. I nodded to him, but he just looked away. Despite how much he was brushing me off, I was curious enough to engage a conversation with him.  
  
"Let me ask you something," I said, getting right to the point. "You heard about me through Latisha, didn't you?"  
  
"So?" he asked with a mouthful of food.  
  
"You don't believe whatever she said about me, do you? I mean, we don't even know each other."  
  
He frowned at me. "Why the fuck do you care?"  
  
"That's a good point. I **could** just ignore it and move on. But I was at least hoping to get a fair shake with you and the others. I mean, it's **Tamara's** birthday party. Might as well have everyone get along for her sake, right?"  
  
"I guess, whatever," he casually replied with a shrug.  
  
"Cool," I said with a smile and a nod. I guess it wasn't too impossible to get these guys to at least be neutral toward me. "Hey, can I grab a handful of those chips?" He responded by subtly grabbing the bag and turning it away from me. "That's cool, too, I guess. I'm not really that hungry anyway."  
  
I decided to take my leave. I knew better than to get between a man and his potato chips.  
  
  
With my cup full of soda, I stood at the entrance of the sliding glass door. I narrowed my eyes as I watched Latisha get up from her seat and walk over to one of the boys sitting at the edge of the pool - the same one that threw the football at me. He casually spun the ball in his hand as she leaned down and whispered something to him. She then briefly pointed in my direction, causing the boy to look up at me for just a second before looking away. She then smiled as she walked away and took the steps down into the pool.  
  
 **That** wasn't suspicious.  
  
At the risk of walking into some kind of trap, I headed back out onto the pool deck to take my seat across from Tamara again now that Latisha was away. She smiled in relief to see me again.  
  
"Hey," she greeted me. "Glad you didn't decide to leave."  
  
I shrugged as I placed my soda cup on the table. "It's **your** birthday party; not hers. Of course I'd stay. Even if I am pretty much in enemy territory."  
  
"I'm really sorry about that," she said with concern in her voice. "I didn't think she'd still be **this** angry at you. I'll try to talk to some of my friends and see if I can get them to lighten up a little. I just want everyone to have fun."  
  
"I tried telling that to your friend in the kitchen," I explained. "He seemed like he wasn't too interested in holding a grudge against someone he didn't even know."  
  
"Tommy? Yeah, he's pretty tame. He'll probably spend the whole time in the kitchen until him and his brother leave."  
  
"Hey, look, I'll do my part, too." My statement piqued her curiosity. "I'll go around and just introduce myself and see if any of these guys and I have stuff in common."  
  
"That's a great idea!" she happily exclaimed. She then took a moment to look me deeply in my eyes. "You know, the whole time I've talked to you this school year, you've been mostly ... quiet. I really like the fact that you're opening up more and talking to people."  
  
I chuckled. "Some people are just a lot easier to talk to," I replied with a grin.  
  
She giggled softly. "Well then," she said, eagerly rubbing her hands together, "let's get to it."  
  
  
Tamara and I got up and went in our separate directions. Both of us were determined to make this party work for her. I really didn't want her to be upset, especially on her birthday. I was more than willing to throw out as many olive branches as necessary. ... Even with Latisha, if it came to it.  
  
My first target was the boy with the football. The couple of kids he was talking to in the water both swam away as Tamara started talking to others on the opposite side of the pool. It was a perfect opportunity for me to have a chat with him.  
  
"Hey, man," I greeted him. "Nice throw earlier. You thinking about trying out for the football team?"  
  
"Yeah," he casually replied, watching Tamara. "Coach says I gotta get my grades up, though. Can't all have straight-"A"s like smart little white boys." He then looked me over and humphed. "Too bad you're too small to try out for the team, though."  
  
I couldn't help but smirk mischievously. "I'm the biggest slacker you've ever met, man. I'd just as soon sit around and do nothing than do homework."  
  
He chuckled. "Sounds like you got a problem then."  
  
"We all gotta make improvements," I remarked, glancing over at Tamara before looking back at him. "Hey, look. It's Tamara's birthday. I figure whatever Latisha has said about me to you doesn't really matter as long as Tamara's happy. What do you think?"  
  
"I guess," he replied, almost begrudgingly.  
  
I nodded confidently. "All right, then. I'm not such a bad guy when you get to know me."  
  
"Yeah," he offhandedly spoke as if he wasn't even listening to me. I then noticed him looking in Latisha's general direction. Just as I glanced over at her, she had already turned away and began walking out of the pool to talk to Tamara some more.  
  
  
"Hey," he said to me as he clapped the ball between his hands. "You wanna throw the ball around a bit?"  
  
I was still a little bit suspicious that he actually wanted to play, but I couldn't just say 'no.' Not with Tamara's party hanging in the balance.  
  
"Okay, sure," I replied.  
  
"Hey, y'all!" he called out to the others in the pool. "I'mma play some catch with the white boy!"  
  
I already didn't like where this was going. I had the sinking feeling that what I said to him did not get through at all. That was reaffirmed when I looked over at Latisha and saw her smirking knowingly at me.  
  
He hopped into the pool and then faded back to just in front of the other kids.  
  
"Ready?" he asked. I stood at the opposite end of the pool from him.  
  
"Hit me," I replied, hoping he wouldn't take that invitation literally.  
  
He threw the ball very hard, launching it well over the reach of my arms and into the wooded area behind the house. I stood there, stunned for a brief moment, before looking at him with an unimpressed gaze. That's when the group laughing ensued.  
  
"Of course," he remarked, "the stupid-ass white boy can't catch."  
  
That was such a blatantly obvious attempt to rile me up that I didn't even bother replying. Latisha was hysterical, covering her mouth as she walked away. Unfortunately, I wasn't quite done with football boy.  
  
"Man, stop standing around!" he shouted at me. "Go fetch my fuckin' ball! That's all your little ass is good for anyway."  
  
I replied with a forced grin and a sarcastically pleasant tone, "I'm going." I turned around, my expression immediately turning to annoyance as I began to walk away. This was for Tamara and so, I was willing to take the brunt of being the laughingstock for a little while.  
  
  
"Wait," Tamara said, catching my attention. She quickly jogged up to me before looking back to the others. "I'll go with him."  
  
The boy was really not pleased with that idea. "What the fuck you need to walk him into the forest for!?"  
  
"Well ... I know the woods better than he does," Tamara replied, almost as if she was looking for an excuse. "Be right back!"  
  
"Hurry the fuck up!" he commanded.  
  
"Come on," she softly said to me with one of those irresistible smiles of hers. I grinned back and happily followed just behind her.  
  
"Dude's probably retarded," I overheard one of them say.  
  
"Don't listen to them," she said to me as we began to walk out of the backyard. "They're just trying to get on your nerves."  
  
"I know," I said, following her lead through the trees. "Latisha's done a pretty bang-up job of turning everyone against me."  
  
"I don't know what's gotten into all of them," she softly remarked in disbelief. "They're just ... so hostile now."  
  
"It's okay," I reassured her with a hand on her shoulder. She quickly turned to me. "Like I said, it's not their birthday party I came for." She smiled happily. We then came across the neon-colored football resting atop a bunch of fallen leaves.  
  
  
"Here's the ball," she said, bending over briefly to pick it up and then tossed it to me.  
  
"At least I caught it this time," I joked. She giggled in amusement.  
  
As I turned to head back to the party, Tamara suddenly stopped me.  
  
"Wait," she quickly said, causing me to turn back around. She looked at me with a nervous gaze which had me curious. "I want to ... just thank you for being so great. You could've left at any time, but ... you decided to stay. For me."  
  
"Of course," I replied with a calm smile. "I want you to be happy, Tamara."  
  
"I want you to be happy, too, Anthony ..."  
  
She surprised me as she then placed her hands on my shoulders and leaned in to introduce her lips to my own. I wasted not a moment before holding her in both arms. She responded happily and did the same. The two of us were instantly pulled into the magic of our kiss, deepening it into something more warm and passionate. She sighed quietly in content, our heads moving up and down as our lips danced around one another. She was so eager to keep going and to keep pressing forward. It wasn't long before the initially innocent kiss turned into a heavy make-out session.  
  
I stroked the silky skin of her back, all the while keeping that damned football held tightly in my other hand. She began to softly moan with an eagerness and attraction for me like I'd never seen before. She brought a hand up to my face, stroking and caressing it with her fingertips - being careful not to let her fingernails scrape my skin.  
  
We then pulled away for a moment to catch our breath. She grinned with a beaming elation, giggling happily as she stroked my face and moved down to my chest before wrapping both arms around the back of my neck again.  
  
"That was great," she quietly said.  
  
"Wow," I breathed. "That _was_ great. It was also pretty ... unexpected. Where'd that come from?"  
  
"I just wanted to thank you for being so amazing today," she sweetly explained. "Just like ... every other day."  
  
  
She was so beautiful. That smile of hers had lit up my day more times than I could count. Sharing that moment of warmth and tenderness with her was an unforgettable moment. I wished I could hold her forev–  
  
"Hey!!" the same boy exclaimed from the pool. "Did you find the damn ball yet?!"  
  
What a buzzkill. Both of us sighed in defeat as we turned back to each other, both of us flashing a smile.  
  
"Let's head on back now," she quietly said to me. She then raised her voice to respond to him. "Yeah! We found it!"  
  
He replied, "Hurry the fuck up, then! Damn!"  
  
I wasn't really finding his personality very cute anymore. I'd begun to question whether or not the people at the party actually **were** Tamara's friends. I mean, I don't think she was lying when she said they were, but their loyalties seemed to lie with Latisha. At the very least, they just weren't very dependable or forgiving with Tamara. Not even Tamara herself trying to get the others to lighten up on me had any effect on them. As we walked back onto the pool deck, I knew there was only one way I was going to get any peace at the party – and that was to go straight to the source of conflict.  
  
  
"Here," I said, surprising him as I hurled the ball at him. He quickly caught it. "You can play with your ball without me. I'm going into the house."  
  
"Yeah, you do that," he uncaringly replied, watching me head inside.  
  
I found Latisha hanging out with the chubby guy in the kitchen. Just as I appeared, she spotted me and sucked her teeth in dismay.  
  
"I'll see you later, Tommy," she said. She then sized me up before walking past me.  
  
"Oh no, you don't," I said as I suddenly grabbed her by the arm. Needless to say, she was very shocked.  
  
"What the fuck you doing, white boy?! Get off me!"  
  
"You and I need to talk – now," I insisted as I pulled her further into the house. She growled and followed me, not quite finding the strength to pull away. Tommy sat there and casually watched us while scarfing down more food.  
  
I'd never been rough with a girl like that before, but desperate times called for desperate measures. I led her into a hallway with no one around and let go of her arm.  
  
"The fuck do you want?" she angrily spoke as she pulled her arm away and rubbed it.  
  
"You and I need to call a truce," I sternly said.  
  
"A truce? What are you, stupid or something? I don't **like** you, and I never will."  
  
"You don't have to like me," I explained. "I don't like you at all either. But this is Tamara's party and right now she's really upset because of how everyone's acting."  
  
"Then fucking leave!" she shouted. "That was the whole point - to get your skinny ass out of here."  
  
"If I leave, it's going to ruin the party for her," I said. She scoffed and folded her arms across her chest, turning away from me. "You can scoff all you want. But Tamara really wants me here and she really wants me to be able to get along with the rest of her friends. I can do that and play nice for a little while longer, but you have to as well." She slowly looked over at me, realizing I was being fairly reasonable. "Do you care about Tamara or not?"  
  
"Of course I do, stupid ass."  
  
"Then do it for **her** ," I said. She thought it over for a moment before sighing and waving a hand at me.  
  
"Fine, whatever," she resentfully agreed. "I'll truce with you or whatever."  
  
"Good. Now I need you to call off your goon squad out there and get them to back off."  
  
"I can't do that," she casually said.  
  
I was confused. "Why?"  
  
"Because," she said before nervously shifting her eyes away. "... Most of the shit I said about you was really bad. Like – **really** bad."  
  
" **How** bad?"  
  
"... I made up shit to make you look like the white devil." I sighed and let my head fall in defeat. "Look, I ain't apologizin' for shit, okay? Them boys out there will happily kick your ass, and I hope they do it. You've been a piece of shit to me forever."  
  
I frowned as I looked up at her again. "People change, Latisha. I'm not the same kid I was in middle school."  
  
"Oh yeah?" she asked with a ton of skepticism in her voice.  
  
"Would that same kid pull you aside and talk to you ... **reasonably** like I am right now?"  
  
She rolled her eyes and shrugged. "One example doesn't mean you're some all-new hot shit. What's your point?"  
  
"The point is I care about Tamara. I want her to enjoy her birthday and be happy, if just for **one** day of the year. Put yourself in her shoes."  
  
Her expression softened up. "... Yeah, I guess I can see it that way. But I wouldn't be friends with some crazy ass white boy like she is."  
  
I took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "Look, for what it's worth ... I'm sorry about the stuff I did to you. I never got to actually ever say that to you, but yeah, I did do some really stupid and annoying stuff to you. I regret doing it and I did nothing but cause problems for everyone. I carry around a lot of guilt for that. I really am sorry and I do hope that maybe one day you can forgive me and have both of us let go of this grudge." She seemed genuinely surprised by my words. I knew it was a speech she would've never imagined she'd hear from me. "I'm gonna go back out there now."  
  
"Yeah," she quietly replied, watching me as I walked away.  
  
  
Just as I stepped outside, there was a ruckus going on. Football guy was rallying the troops behind him in an argument with Tamara. It didn't look like it was going to end well, either.  
  
"Fuck that!" he exclaimed. "We want him out!"  
  
"Please, Darrell!" Tamara pleaded. "Can't you just be cool for a little while longer?"  
  
"Either lil' whitey leaves or we leave!"  
  
I knew it was time to make my final stand.  
  
"I'm right here!" I shouted as I approached the pool. "Why don't you talk to **me** instead?"  
  
"Man, shut the fuck up, white boy!" Darrell responded. "Ain't nobody like you here anyway!"  
  
"This is **Tamara's** party!" I shouted, getting heated. Tamara looked at me with worry in her eyes. "I don't even think you're her **real** friend if you're gonna act like this!"  
  
"Who the fuck are you, white boy?!" he yelled as he started to march over to me, only to be held back by some of the others. "Huh?! Step to me, little boy! Step to me right now so I can flatten ya' ass!"  
  
" **Stop it!!** " Tamara screamed in a way I never imagined I'd hear from her.  
  
Everyone immediately fell to a hush as tempers began to die down. Darrell scoffed and shook his head before turning away. I sighed and quickly collected my things before heading for the front door. Tamara immediately followed me into the house in a panic.  
  
"Anthony, wait!!" she exclaimed as she grabbed me by the arm. She had so much sorrow in her eyes, like she was on the verge of crying. I blamed myself for her sadness.  
  
"I'm sorry," I softly said to her, trying to calm her down. "I should probably just go."  
  
"No!" she insistently exclaimed. " _Please_ don't go! I want you to stay. ... You're my special guest, remember?" I felt incredibly guilty for wanting to leave. All she wanted was for me to be there at her party and to have a good time. I couldn't even manage that. I just wished things had turned out better for her. She then took my towel from my hands and placed it on the table by the door. I stared at her in confusion before she gently took me by the hand and smiled warmly at me.  
  
"Come with me," she sweetly said.


	15. Tamara

Tamara led me by the hand up the stairs. It was so pleasant to hear the noisy sounds of the crowd outside starting to fade away into peaceful quiet. She took me all the way down the hall, opening the door into her bedroom. I was already swirling with ideas as to where this was headed, but I knew Tamara was too upset. I could only hope that Darrell and the others figure I left and would settle down.  
  
"We'll be safe from those goons in here," she quietly said, partially closing the door. She then turned to face me. She still had a sorrow in her eyes, almost as if it was her fault that all of this happened. I couldn't let her think that way.  
  
"Tamara, I'm really sorry," I responded.  
  
"No," she quickly spoke. "I'm the one who's sorry. I should've ... maybe I could've had two different parties, you know? And you and I could've just hung out together by ourselves for a while. I didn't think Latisha would be this bitter ..."  
  
Her lip trembled, visibly on the verge of tears. I tried desperately to find the words to repel her sorrow.  
  
"You couldn't have known, Tamara. ... Please don't blame yourself for this."  
  
"I can't help it!" she exclaimed, her voice quavering. "I just wanted to have a great birthday party and I wanted you to be here so badly!" She couldn't hold back her tears any longer, gritting her teeth as she broke down into sobbing.  
  
It was heart-wrenching to watch her crying. I quickly put my arms around her, if nothing else than to tell her that I cared. She took the initiative, cinching her arms around the back of my neck as she cried into my shoulder. I stood there, forlorn, able to do nothing else than keep her safe within my arms. Tamara was one of the few people that actually cared about me and gave me a shot at being a friend before all this superpower stuff happened. I would've done anything for her to make her feel better.  
  
Then, in that moment, she knew exactly what she needed to feel better.  
  
  
Her crying slowed to a halt. She then gazed at me, a demure look in her tear-filled eyes before she leaned in to kiss me once again. I didn't object, letting the kiss happen. We went right back to where we left off outside. She uttered quiet sighs of pleasure, her hands resting on my shoulders. Our kiss was so much deeper than before; so intimate. All we cared about was the mashing of each others lips against our own.  
  
And then, with no hesitation, she reached down and fondled me through my bathingsuit. At first I didn't even think about it because I figured I was just fantasizing until I felt her fingers running over my penis.  
  
I immediately brought our kiss to a halt, staring at her in surprise. Sure it was pretty unbelievable for me to turn down such an invitation, but she was a sorrow-filled mess just a few moments earlier. She couldn't have been thinking clearly. She stared back at me with deep worry in her eyes, as though I was about to scold her.  
  
"Tamara ...," I uttered in surprise. "You don't ... have to do this."  
  
"I _want_ to...," she whispered. "So badly..."  
  
I was stunned, to say the least. Hearing her say she wanted me was every fantasy I ever had about her come true. At the same time, I had to be **absolutely** sure before we went any further.  
  
"If we do this, we can't go back to the way things were."  
  
"That's okay," she said with a small smile. "I want us both to keep this memory forever."  
  
She was so genuine in her statement that it mesmerized me. She leaned in and gave me the sweetest, most gentlest kiss I'd ever had. She then smiled warmly at me, causing me to do the same. She ran her hand along my cheek for a moment while her other hand casually slipped under the hem of my bathingsuit. I exhaled sharply as she took hold of my organ, calmly stroking it to life.  
  
As I hardened in her soft grasp, the look in her eyes told me she really did want to do this badly. It was a hypnotic gaze, one that I just couldn't turn away from even as she calmly dropped down onto her knees.  
  
She turned her attention to my bathingsuit. She calmly untied it before hooking her fingers under the hem and gently pulled it down. The air escaped from her lungs when she got a much closer view of my manhood. She looked at me, giving me a perfect view of her beautiful brown eyes – the eyes of the warmest girl I'd known. The way she looked at me, so eager and so engaged, it made me want to do whatever she asked of me. Even if what she asked of me would've taken us far past the point of being just friends.  
  
  
Our gazes were affixed to each other as she slowly drew her tongue along the length of my throbbing shaft. I exhaled sharply, my jaw dropping as her tongue licked and curled around every inch of me, all while she just stared into my eyes. She wanted to make this as real as possible for us both. Then, she pursed her lips around my swollen head and slowly kissed her way down as much of me as she could take into her mouth. She started to rhythmically bob her head up and down, reveling in the incredible pleasure as we crossed a threshold I could've never expected.  
  
As she eagerly sucked faster upon my length, she casually untied her top and let it fall to the ground. She still continued to stare up at me, leaving me so mesmerized by her beautiful gaze.  
  
"Tamara...," I quietly spoke. "That feels so amazing..." She seemed pleased with that remark, but not nearly as much when I added, "I care about you so much..."  
  
Hearing that caused her to reach up and take my hand in her own. I turned my hand slightly, allowing our fingers to interlock with each other. She didn't stop the oral pleasure for a moment, reaching up with her other hand to hold my other one just the same. Only then did she close her eyes, completely focused on the task in front of her.  
  
Tamara ducked her head up and down with an intense passion, quickly taking my pleasure to new heights. She moaned in excitement, her lips slurping and popping around my penis. She was relentless – I knew it wasn't going to take much more before I came. I panted and groaned joyously, her hands gripping mine tighter, both of us so very turned on.  
  
Then, she released me from her mouth with a loud sigh. Both of us panted lustfully as I helped her get to her feet. Once she stood before me, she eagerly shoved her lips over my own, engaging us in a deeply intimate kiss. As our lips happily locked together, she let go of my hands and put her arms under my own to hold my upper back. I did the same for her, holding her tightly as we kissed with vigorous passion.  
  
When she pulled away from the kiss, we continued to gently pant at each other. Her eyes rapidly shifted back and forth between my own for a moment. She then let her arms drag as she pulled me toward her while moving backward. She tumbled over the foot of her bed, taking me with her as I fell atop her. The mood was quite earnest between us. We met each other for another ardent kiss, her body simultaneously sliding back until she could rest her head on the pillow. She quickly reached down, whipping her swimsuit bottom down her legs and tossed them carelessly to the floor. She spread her legs open before me – an invitation like no other.  
  
  
With Tamara's thighs rubbing against my sides, I couldn't help but eagerly begin to kiss my way down her chin and neck. She moaned amorously for a very brief moment before she suddenly stopped me, much to my confusion.  
  
"No," she whispered, "don't wait. Just do it. I've wanted to do this with you for so long. Be my first, Anthony. ... Please, do it ..."  
  
There was only one 'do it' she could've possibly meant at that point. I was so mesmerized by her, gazing almost blankly into her eyes that were filled with curiosity and excitement. She wanted to find out everything she'd never experienced before. I couldn't have possibly have resisted her if I tried. We were both young and eager, and she was so very insistent. She'd always been **so** beautiful to me and so comfortable to be around.  
  
My body shifted automatically between her thighs, nearing my sex closer to hers. She bit her lip in eager nervousness, her hands stroking my head whilst I slipped the head of my shaft betwixt her very wet folds. I kept going slowly, listening to the gentle, demure whimpers and pants that escaped her soft lips. As I slowly pushed deeper into her, I let out a sharp, enraptured sigh. She was wondrously tight, her hot walls joyously embracing my entry. Her virginity broke from around me, but she didn't even seem to notice it.  
  
Tamara let out a deep groan as she felt my hips pressed into hers. Our bodies squirmed gently against each other as I came to a rest for just a brief moment. We gazed intensely into each others' eyes, fully aware of the boundary we had crossed together. Neither of us seemed to mind. Tamara had an exalted twinkle in her eyes, one that had me lean forward and mingle my lips into her own. While we kissed, I took one of her hands from behind my head and interlocked our fingers once more. I wanted her to know that I was right here with her on this journey together. Our lips gently pulled away, and she gave me one of those beautiful smiles that made my heart melt. I grinned back to her, planting our interwoven hands on the bed.  
  
Then, I eagerly got started moving my hips in and out. We continued to just gaze intimately at one another as we experienced those first few, heart-pounding moments of sex together. Her eyelids hung low, her eyes glazed over with lust as I kept on going. Watching the corners of her lips gently curl into a little grin each time I calmly pushed into her ... I knew that she was in heavenly bliss.  
  
  
I gently kissed around her face, both of us lost in the heat of sexual enthrallment. I panted heavily amidst her restrained cries of ecstasy. I was actually making love with Tamara – that sweet girl with the beautiful smile that always brightened up my day with her presence alone. My lips then met with her own, happily kissing each other deeply. Our kiss soon broke once more, panting onto each others' mouths, keeping our lips mere inches from each other.  
  
Her body began to writhe, exhilarated, as I picked up the pace a bit. I reaffirmed the grip on her hand and she responded in kind. It felt so amazing to be giving her such incredible pleasure, soaking up the sounds of the intense panting and delicate cries that escaped her lips. The bed gently creaked and squeaked beneath us. I inadvertently began moaning into her ear, delighting her.  
  
"Ohh, ... **Anthony** ..." she lustfully moaned.  
  
It truly felt as though Tamara and I were one with each other, our bodies writhing together in wondrous bliss. I found myself gripping her hand tighter while my other hand took tight hold of the bed sheet. The fear was constantly there that we would get caught, but that didn't stop us as two very horny teenagers from thrusting onward. I continued to up the pace, quickly amplifying our mutual pleasure. I was reveling in the splendor of having such an amazing time with her.  
  
Time? Oh **crap** , how could I completely forget I could stop time?  
  
That's when my extrasensory senses alerted me of something behind us. I didn't even have to look back in order to see it. In my mind's eye, I saw Latisha peering in from the open crack in the door. She was silent, watching us with a curious, fascinated gaze. She'd already settled in, so it was clear she'd been watching us for some time already. I didn't want to alert Tamara of the pair of prying eyes – I simply kept on going.  
  
Our bodies were visibly sweating while I drove my hips hard into her. The two of us were lost in a sea of beautiful pleasure, unwilling to come back to shore for anything in the world. She belted out high-pitched cries into my shoulder, muffling herself so no one would hear us intensely making love. Despite my incredible hunger for her, I managed to hold out inside of her heaven for a surprising length of time. She, however, was unable to hold back any ounce of passion during our time together. Her body writhed uncontrollably, clinging to me tighter and tighter until she suddenly jerked her head back with a loud, sharp gasp.  
  
I felt her walls trying to shove me out, but I kept inside her, watching her in her beautiful state of orgasmic bliss. She trembled and tensed up all of her muscles for a moment before relaxing with long, sharp sighs and gasps for air. I raised my body away from hers, letting her breathe as she came down from her sky-high bliss.  
  
  
Once she had finished her climax, I was more than happy to let our magical union come to an end without finishing myself. I withdrew from her, rolling onto my side and using my hold on her hand to bring her with me. She turned and grinned at me, the two of us panting in harmonious relief. I put an arm around her back, she put hers around my neck. The two of us laid there for a good moment just gazing into each others eyes.  
  
"That was the _best_ ," she said with a euphoric sigh.  
  
"I'd say," I breathed, both of us sharing a quiet laugh.  
  
She then looked at a bit awkwardly. "Didn't you want to ... you know, ... cum?"  
  
"It's fine," I reassured her with a smile. "This is your birthday. As long as you're happy - I'm happy."  
  
"I am happy," she replied, grinning from ear to ear. " **Very** happy..."  
  
"Something tells me, though," I added, "this was part of the reason you wanted me here."  
  
She giggled and nodded. "I feel so embarrassed, but ... yeah, it was." I smiled, truly astounded that she'd taken such an interest in me. "I didn't know if ... if it would really happen. I really hoped it would, though." She then affectionately ran a hand through my sweaty hair. "This is the most amazing birthday present you could've ever given me."  
  
"Well then, happy birthday," I replied.  
  
Just as the two of us leaned in to spark another intimate kiss, old 'big mouth' Latisha decided to make her presence known as she stormed into the room.  
  
  
"What the hell you think you doin', girl?!" she exclaimed, demanding an answer. Tamara jolted, turning to her friend with a terrified look. "You out of your mind? Having sex with this stupid-ass white boy?"  
  
"Latisha!" she exclaimed in horror. "I ... uh, it's ... not what it looks like?" she added with a worried grin. Latisha was unamused, folding her arms across her chest. "You can't tell anyone, okay? Please, Latisha."  
  
Latisha thought it over for a brief moment before sighing in frustration.  
  
"Ugh, whatever, I won't. Wouldn't catch **me** being stupid enough to have sex with that dumb ol' white boy, though." While Tamara was still visibly nervous over being caught, I decided to turn Latisha's incredibly convenient quote on its head.  
  
"Then why were you watching us the whole time?" I asked with a confident smile.  
  
Needless to say, Latisha was shocked by my accusation.  
  
"What?!" she shouted in disbelief.  
  
I chuckled. "Yeah, I know you were there the whole time watching us."  
  
Latisha hesitated, her eyes wide. "... I was not! The fuck you talkin' about?"  
  
"I know when you're lying, Latisha," Tamara said, smirking as she got up to meet Latisha eye-to-eye. "You're definitely lying, girl."  
  
"Yeah, well, ... so **what?** " she bitterly replied. "I ain't gotta explain myself to you. And, if you try tellin' anyone, I'll just deny it."  
  
"Well," Tamara quietly remarked as she began to formulate a plan, "I have something _different_ in mind than telling people ..." She quickly got up behind Latisha, laughing while untying the girl's bikini.  
  
"Tamara?!" she shouted as she tried to fight the girl away, only to lose her top. "What the hell you doin'?! You lost your mind, girl?! Give me that back!"  
  
Tamara continued giggling as she managed to untie the girl's bikini bottom as well. I'd never seen Tamara so playfully naughty before, but I was thoroughly enjoying it.  
  
"Here, catch!" Tamara exclaimed, throwing Latisha's clothing to me. I quickly caught them, holding them behind my back. Latisha fumed at me while I innocently grinned back at her.  
  
"You stupid-ass white boy, you **better** give those back!"  
  
  
I played a bit of 'keep away' while Latisha reached with one hand for her clothing. That's when I saw Tamara grin and nod to me before suddenly shoved Latisha onto the bed with me. Latisha shrieked in surprise.  
  
"Oh, hey there," I playfully said as I caught her in my arms. She looked at me with the most shocked expression I'd ever seen. And yet, she laid atop me almost motionless like she was expecting something else to happen. Of course, this was the girl that hated me with the most incensed passion one could possibly muster. I had harbored a grudge against her for a long time as well. But in that moment, looking into her eyes – which quickly became more and more curious – I decided 'Why not?' and went for it.  
  
Latisha moaned in surprise as my lips clasped tightly over her own. She was frozen in shock, staring at the wall for a moment before letting go of her inhibitions and so very meekly kissing me back. I don't think she had any interest in showing me any affection. She just wanted some of what Tamara got and nothing more. Of course, I was certainly capable of making that happen.  
  
I pulled my lips away, maneuvering her body parallel to my own with her back to me. She suddenly became very quiet – extremely uncharacteristic of her. I ran my tongue along her shoulder and neck, hearing her exhale nervously as she let her body lay relaxed on the bed. At the same time, I slid my hand down her belly. Her legs seemed to just part ever so slightly enough for me to dip my hand between them. Tamara gave us a grin, soaking up the scene playing out before her.  
  
She hissed and bit her lip as my fingers ran over her incredibly sensitive sex. She was **so** wet already after having turned the private moment between Tamara and I into a spectator sport. I briefly glanced up at Tamara. She tapped at her wrist, reminding me that we didn't have much time before someone came looking for us. Once again, the thought of time reminded me that I was not using my power - which would've been infinitely useful in this situation. However, I decided to skip the usual necessary explanation to people after stopping time and went for it legit this time.  
  
  
And so, I slid my hand under her knee to pull back her leg. I reared my hips back, hearing Latisha gasp as the head of my penis between her very swollen folds. Her head bent back into my chest, uttering a sharp, high-pitched moan as I easily pushed inside of her. Just as I'd made it to the hilt within her, I felt a familiar sensation of flesh breaking around me. It was Latisha's first time as well.  
  
Well, that was a very pleasant surprise.  
  
Her hot, wet, spongy walls gripped, shifted and contracted around me as I smoothly pushed in and out of her. I wasn't exactly trying to go for the slow, sensual union that Tamara just had. Judging from her rapid panting and quiet cries of pleasure I'd say she liked it that way. She was so incredibly wet; those tight walls hot like a furnace.  
  
I really enjoyed this position. It allowed for deep, impactful sex while keeping things impersonal between us. We both knew that this was just sex and nothing more. I knew she wasn't going to just **magically** have affectionate feelings for me all of a sudden. But man, did it still feel amazing to have sex with her. I'd obviously never had two girls, one right after another. It most certainly helped me to feel like I was the man — aside from my nervousness of getting caught, of course. I kept at it, rhythmically pounding her heat while Tamara calmly took a seat on the bed in front of us to watch.  
  
"Ahh, fuck!" Latisha exclaimed. "Ahh! Ahh!! **Fu~ck!** "  
  
She was much louder than Tamara, and I thought for sure we were gonna get caught. Luckily, the music outside was more than loud enough to drown out Latisha's cries and squeals of intense pleasure. She then grabbed the pillow beneath her head, bringing to her mouth and biting down hard on it as she suddenly belted out her muffled cries as loudly as she could.  
  
There was something so very satisfying about having sex with Latisha. It felt like ... harmonious closure. Closure to our hatred for each other that we'd held on to for years. I just knew, from looking at Latisha writhing in ecstasy, that she was feeling a sense of closure, too. I knew she would never _like_ me, but at least now she didn't completely hate me – if allowing me to have sex with her was any sort of clue.  
  
  
Latisha's skinny body squirmed in joyous delight as I quickly picked up the pace. I panted heavily, keeping my groans at a soft volume whilst relentlessly shoving myself into her harder and harder still. Her lithe frame flailed and jolted helplessly amidst my furious pounding. It was enough to cause her eyes to roll back into her head. I reached down between her legs with my free hand. I waved my hand back and forth, vigorously rubbing her clit while drilling deep into her incredible heat. Suddenly, I was overwhelming her virgin body to the point where she bucked hard against me, her fingers practically ripping through the bed sheets.  
  
"Oh, my god!!" she screamed into the pillow. "Yes!! God ...! ... **Ohh~hh!** "  
  
And then, she came — a lot. In the midst of her jerking and gushing, I couldn't hold it in anymore. After having satisfied not one, but two girls, I quickly pulled out of Latisha to finally relieve myself of my own climax.  
  
It was a surreal experience, coming down off of cloud nine and realizing I had gone all the way with Latisha. As I caught my breath, I just grinned and snickered at the sheer incomprehensibility of what just transpired. At the same time, Latisha was too embarrassed to even look at me. She was probably trying to tell herself she didn't actually just do that with me, of all people.  
  
That's when Tamara, the one with priorities in mind, began to pull Latisha by the arm.  
  
"Come on, you," she said as she helped Latisha sit up.  
  
"Where the hell you takin' me?" she quietly asked, being pulled to her feet.  
  
"We need to get showered off after that," Tamara explained. That's when Latisha finally gave me a glance for just a second.  
  
"And what about white boy?" Latisha asked.  
  
"I was hoping he could run interference for anyone that might come looking for us?" Tamara replied whilst turning to me. "We **have** been gone for a while." I nodded to her in agreement. Latisha's eyes nearly bugged out once she realized that.  
  
"... Oh, **shit** , you're right." Latisha muttered before dashing for the hallway. "Go, go, go! Get the fuck in the bathroom! Move!" I shook my head in amusement as I, too, got to my feet.  
  
"Should I stay and wait for you?" I asked Tamara. She watched as I casually slipped my swim trunks back on.  
  
"All by yourself with those guys still hanging around? What do _you_ think?"  
  
I smiled and nodded to her. "I'll get going, then."  
  
As I headed out into the hallway, Tamara stopped me.  
  
"Anthony, wait," she said, still standing completely nude. "Thank you **so** much. You made my birthday the best day of my whole life."  
  
"Like I said, I want you to be happy," I softly explained. She smiled happily – that same, beautiful smile – before planting a warm kiss on my cheek.  
  
"See ya later," Tamara softly said before she quickly shuffled into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.  
  
  
No sooner did I go to take my leave did I see none other than Darrell start marching up to me from the top of the stairs. Great. I panicked out of instinct. Not because of **him** , but rather the possibility of getting caught red-handed.  
  
"The fuck you still doing here?" he asked, incredulous. "I thought your dumb ass left."  
  
"Yeah, ... well, Tamara wanted to talk to me in private."  
  
"What's she got to say to **you**?"  
  
"Obviously none of your business," I casually replied, keeping my cool against his attempts to intimidate me.  
  
He chuckled in amusement. "Man, you think you slick, huh?" I shrugged. "Move your ass out the way so I can talk to Tamara."  
  
"She went to go take a shower. Probably not a good time to talk to her."  
  
"Oh yeah? Lemme find out." He then stomped past me, coming to a halt near the bathroom door. "Hey, yo, Tamara! ... **Tamara!** "  
  
There was a pause between responses. In that short time, I swear I sensed Tamara's heart rate rise and heard her shush Latisha from within the bathroom. I really shouldn't have been able to, given the distance and the closed door between us.  
  
"Yeah?!" she called back.  
  
"Hey, you takin' a shower?!"  
  
"Yeah, so?!"  
  
"A'ight! I'll check you in a bit!" He then turned his nose up to me and sucked his teeth as he sized me up. "You lucky we don't go to the same school, little white boy. I'm fixin' to beat ya' ass if I ever see you again."  
  
I smirked confidently as I gave him a nod. "Yeah, it was nice meeting you, too." He scoffed and shook his head, heading back down the stairs. I waited a brief moment to give some space between us before following downstairs. I gathered up my belongings and took one last look up the stairwell. I smiled and sighed contently before heading out the door.  
  
It felt nice to get out of _that_ war zone. As I walked away from Tamara's house, I continued to hear the slowly fading sounds of laughing and music from the party. Despite how awfully things turned out between her friends and myself, I was at least happy to know they were still able to have fun and keep the party going. More than that, I was happy that Tamara was happy.  
  
  
The next day, I was feeling a bit disappointed that I didn't even get to soak my feet at Tamara's pool party. So, I decided to head out to the pool to make up for it. I had on my usual pool getup: swim trunks, sandals, no shirt, towel slung over my shoulder. I felt great as I soaked up the really cool air. I took a brief glance up at the sky. The clouds were out in force, a little dark here and there. It was colder than usual, which meant I was going to appreciate being in the warm water even more. Hopefully the building staff had actually remembered to keep it warm as sometimes they'd neglect it.  
  
No sooner did I near the pool did I see a pretty girl doing laps – and she was fast, too. Luckily for me, it wasn't the same, poor girl that I harassed before so I had a clean slate here. I kept my eyes on her while I set my towel down on the table and took off my sandals. I then held my hand up, creating a small can of minty breath spray out of thin air to spritz a couple times into my mouth. I then made it disappear just as quickly as it had showed. I smirked and raised an eyebrow, impressing myself with how slick that was. I was getting pretty good with my powers.  
  
I sighed happily, calmly heading down the stairs into the water. I casually waded my way on over to her, keeping a safe distance between us while she was in the midst of her sprint. She was like a pro athlete knocking down lap after lap, moving with precision. I was surprised I'd never seen her before. She was very pretty – well, from what I could see beyond the splashes and rippling water, anyway. I decided to just hang out with my back against the shallow end wall. I smiled as I watched her go, my arms resting against the water overflow – that top part of the pool wall where the water goes over. I absolutely **had** to get to know this girl.  
  
Eventually, she slowed to a stop and finally stood up nearby from where I was resting. I couldn't help letting my eyes wander because – wow – she really **was** pretty. That one-piece swim suit smashing down her surprisingly big boobs did not do their sheer size any justice. My brief ogling came to a halt when I saw her look over at me.  
  
"Yeah?" she asked, almost impatiently. "What are you just standing there for?"  
  
"I was watching that awesome show you put on," I replied with a smile. "You were like a torpedo through the water."  
  
"Yeah, well, I have to keep practicing. Sorry if I don't have time to chat."  
  
My jaw hung in surprise as she turned away from me and began to stretch. I was taken aback by how dismissive she was. Why would she shut me down **that** quickly if she didn't even know me? Unless...  
  
  
"Wait," I said, grabbing her attention. She sighed in exasperation. "Do we ... know each other somehow?"  
  
She scoffed. "You're as airheaded as I remember, Anthony." I pulled my head back, stunned. She actually **did** know me? I then curiously narrowed my eyes as I took a long look at her face. Like that old toy stereoscope, my mind cycled through a visual list of faces until I matched hers.  
  
"... Samantha?" I asked in disbelief.  
  
" _Now_ you remember me," she replied with a smirk.  
  
"Wow, it's been a **really** long time. I haven't seen you in, like, three or four years."  
  
"Yep, and all the time we knew each other as kids."  
  
"Yeah," I recalled with a look of nervousness, "yeah, I remember that ... sort of."  
  
I had been a particularly bad boy to Samantha as a kid and even as a teenager. It was the kind of stuff that I realize she hadn't forgotten — though I wish she had. While I was never really cruel to her, I was exceptionally bothersome to the point of infuriation. Of course, that was the running theme with me. After some time, she had cut off all contact with me until we were teens. She gave me a second chance and I continued to be the same brat she remembered. Once that happened, she was completely done with me altogether. I hadn't seen her since and thought for sure she had moved away. I was glad she didn't, though. It gave me one more chance to make it up to her.  
  
  
"Well, it was **great** catching up with you." Samantha dismissively spoke. "Now, I'm trying to practice here. So, would you mind going away?"  
  
"You want someone to race against?" I asked. "Cause I could be that someone."  
  
"Ha!" she exclaimed, grinning and shaking her head. "Good one. But seriously, I'm trying to practice for my school's swim team. We're a serious competitor to the best schools in the state, so, really, you don't stand a chance against me, okay?"  
  
She'd gotten a lot cockier since I last knew her. That was enough to put a big smirk on my face. I loved the thrill of competition.  
  
"Why don't you prove it, then?" I asked, surprising her. I stood confidently, folding my arms across my chest as I awaited her response. She sighed heavily.  
  
"I see you're still as childish as you've always been," she muttered.  
  
"Well then, you're not seeing the whole story. I've been going through some changes lately."  
  
She suddenly had a particularly annoyed look on her face. "And ... this is where I end **this** conversation–"  
  
"No, I don't mean _those_ kind of 'changes.' I'm more grown-up than you remember me."  
  
That was enough to make her laugh aloud. "I really doubt that. How do you figure you're more 'grown-up' now?"  
  
"Well, I'm much nicer to the girls – such as you – for one thing."  
  
She paused for a moment, recalling the memories in her mind.  
  
"I remember what a pest you were to all of my friends. They wouldn't stop telling me about how irritating you were."  
  
"Yeah," I casually replied, awkwardly rubbing my arm. "But hey, at the very least I could've splashed you or started pulling your hair, couldn't I?"  
  
"I suppose you're right about that ... since that **is** something I'd expect from you." I grinned innocently. "But that doesn't mean much without any more proof."  
  
I nodded and replied, "Fair enough. I can at least show you I'm a better swimmer now, though."  
  
She sighed heavily in exasperation. She placed her hands on her hips and looked me over as she thought about it for a long moment.  
  
"Fine. One race. Three laps. Here, to the deep end, and back. If ... sorry, _when_ you lose ... you get to go away and wade around in the shallow end until I leave. And **don't** heckle me or even talk to me for that matter."  
  
"And if **I** win...?" I suggestively asked.  
  
She sighed again. "... I guess I can give you the time of day."  
  
"Sweet," I said before eagerly clasping my hands together.  
  
"Remember, _one_ race."  
  
I chuckled and grinned. "Yes, I heard you."  
  
  
We both backed up against the wall, holding the water overflow. I smiled as I watched her get into position like an athlete would. With her arms back, I couldn't help but take a cheeky glance at her ample chest before looking up at her. She had an intensely serious look on her face – winning this simple contest seemed like winning the Olympics for her.  
  
"Ready," she spoke up. I kept the same smile upon my face as I looked toward the deep end of the pool. "Set. ... Go!!"  
  
She took off like a bullet through the water. I grinned and calmly followed behind her. While she darted perfectly through the warm, bluish water, I had more playful ideas in mind. At the risk of getting a whole bunch of chlorine in my eyes, I blinked to stop time instantly while underwater. From there, I got a good yet blurry look at her. She was in perfect form – in more ways than one! I was still stunned that a girl like Samantha, who was a very plain looking girl growing up, grew into this stunning beauty. At the same time, I still carried that regret for how I treated her. She had grown so bitter toward me, and I understood very well how awfully I had acted around my friends and acquaintances - like her - in the past. I wanted to make it up to her. I wanted to show her that I'm not the same kid that would pull her hair or freak her out with a freshly-caught lizard. More than that, though, I wanted to get her to relax a little and not to take things like this so seriously. I was going to win, that was a given.  
  
After all, which one of us was the one that could stop time again?  
  
Once I was just a little bit ahead of her – just enough that she wouldn't notice – I resumed time and kept our heat going. She was so fast, but with my continuous blinking on and off of time, I managed to easily keep the pace with her all the way. She obviously wasn't watching, but behind her I was doing all sorts of different, goofy things. The backstroke, the doggy paddle, even doing handstands, all the way into the final lap. There, I blinked time off within meters of her finishing, caught up and resumed time in just the perfect place for me to grab the shallow end wall before she did.  
  
She gasped as she came up for air and stood up. She immediately had a very irritated glare in her eyes for me.  
  
"Looks like I won," I said with an innocent grin.  
  
"How the **hell** are you so fast?!" she demanded to know as she slapped the water in frustration, much to my surprise. "I never see you condition or train or anything! I live right above the pool! I usually just see you screw around with your friends or see how long you can hold your breath for. God, I'm **never** going to be any good if I get beaten by **you**!" She folded her arms and turned away from me, panting angrily.  
  
Given how angry she was over that aforementioned simple contest, I figured now was a good a time as any to get her to relax.  
  
"Why do you do that to yourself?" I asked her seriously.  
  
"Do what?" she snapped.  
  
"You take yourself so seriously. You should lighten up, have fun, enjoy your life."  
  
"Well, if I _don't_ , I'm never going to be fast enough to earn a scholarship and make it to nationals." She took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "It's my dream to compete in the Olympics someday, but I'll never make it there if I just **lose**."  
  
Her anger gave way to disappointment. I couldn't just sit there letting her think she was a failure when she was truly the best swimmer I'd ever seen with my own eyes. I knew there was only one way to calm her down ... and that was to tell her the truth. I sighed and rolled my eyes, not _too_ privy to the idea of telling yet _another_ person that I have unreal superpowers. But, it still gave me the opportunity to level with her and maybe, just maybe, bond a little over my secret that very few knew of.  
  
  
"I didn't actually beat you," I admitted to her. "I... sort of cheated."  
  
She looked at me in confusion. "The hell are you talking about? I **saw** you win."  
  
It was obviously time for show-and-tell, as that's the only thing that ever seemed to work. I took a quick look around to make sure nobody was around.  
  
"I want to show you something," I said.  
  
"Um..., okay?"  
  
She was very confused, watching me while I quickly looked around to see what I could use to manipulate with time. I had the idea to just suddenly appear behind her, but at the time time I didn't want to give her a heart attack. So, I waved for her to follow me as I made an exit out of the pool. She sighed and followed along. I could've easily done the thing with the chairs like with Elizabeta, but I was feeling a little inventive. I led her over to the outdoor shower heads and stood with her under them.  
  
"Pull down on the shower lever," I said. She stared at me for a moment and then shook her head in disbelief that she was even entertaining this. She still did so, letting the water run down into the drain below.  
  
She gasped sarcastically. " _Wow_ , it's a ... _shower_. So?"  
  
"Just watch," I told her with a smile.  
  
Suddenly, as I stopped time around the two of us, the water came to an instant halt. Each drop of water was perfectly visible in the midst of its descent to the cement ground below.  
  
Now I had her attention.  
  
  
She stared at the water incredulously, her jaw hanging. "What the...?"  
  
I realized she was too stunned to even move. "Touch the water," I told her. Cautiously, she responded, her fingers wrapping around a couple of the immobile, glass-like drops of water.  
  
"They're as hard as a rock and..." she grunted as she tried to push them away from each other, "I... can't budge them at all! How did you ... even learn to **do** that?"  
  
"Well, it's... not really something I learned. It just kind of happened. I can freeze time at will."  
  
Her eyes were as wide as a water polo ball, her jaw hanging like it was about to fall off. She must've stared at me for several minutes, while I just smiled at her and nodded to let her know I was, in fact, telling the truth. Once she got over the shock of how casual I was about explaining my superpower, she then regained the ability to speak.  
  
"Then ... how are you and I still talking and moving?" she curiously asked.  
  
"It's a selective thing. I pretty much just think about what I want and don't want to freeze in my mind and it happens."  
  
"This is so insane," she remarked, her fingers curiously running between the drops of water. "How come you're not on the news or something yet? You could be famous! Probably rich, too!"  
  
I chuckled and smiled. "I don't want that," I replied, much to her surprise. "In fact, the less people know about it, the better." She seemed even more surprised after **that** remark. "Anyway, that's ... how I beat you. I kept freezing time for just a second, long enough that you wouldn't notice the small jumps." I sighed and idly looked to the sky which had become much more gloomy and dark since I first showed up at the pool. "You're way faster than anyone I've ever seen. I just didn't realize you took it so seriously. I don't want you to. I mean, that's not the Samantha I remember."  
  
As she processed my remarks in her head, I decided to let time resume. All the airborne water splashed down to the ground before I gazed over at her.  
  
"Thanks," she vaguely replied, leaving me wondering.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"For ... sharing that with me. The thing about your time-stop power thing and ... the other stuff. You were right — you have changed and I'm sorry I misjudged you."  
  
Hearing her say that couldn't have brought a bigger smile to my face. It proved infectious, as she smiled back at me.  
  
  
But our smiles quickly faded when we both noticed a flash of lightning not terribly far from us. She shrieked at the sight of it and began to quickly head right back to her belongings amidst the booming sound of thunder.  
  
"Time to go!" she exclaimed. "Hurry up!"  
  
I smiled and followed her, heading over to the table where my stuff was. I quickly dried myself off before I slipped on my sandals. Samantha was already high-tailing it out of there, waving for me to follow. I left the safety of the awning to chase after her. Just as we began our dash to get back inside, rain drops had started to descend upon us. She shrieked again while I couldn't help but laugh. It felt like old times when we were little, running through the rain for fun. Back then, though, we actually _wanted_ the rain to wash down on our heads. Simpler times.  
  
But I should probably stop reminiscing – I'm trying to get out of the rain.  
  
  
Samantha was kind enough to wait and hold the door open for me, allowing me to rush inside with her. The two of us laughed as we panted and caught our breath.  
  
"Well, that was fun," she remarked. Both of us dried ourselves off with whatever dry spots we could find on our towels. "Reminds me of when we were kids."  
  
"Yeah," I replied, thoughtfully. "I was just thinking about that, actually."  
  
She smiled at me. "Sometimes I wish I could go back and relive those moments. But, ... I guess I kind of can now that you're back."  
  
The two of us sat there and grinned at each other for a brief moment before I casually looked to the ground.  
  
"Well, I guess I'll see you around," I said with a nod. She looked at me like I was insane.  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Erm," I muttered, not quite expecting such a response. "I ... mean, I'll ... talk to you again sometime in the near ... future?" I replied, doing my best to define slang.  
  
"I thought we were gonna hang out for a little bit longer." I was genuinely surprised that she wanted to be around me for any longer than she had to. "Don't you want to? I mean, we haven't talked in a long time. Plus, I can't just let you go after that whole ... insane time-stopping thing, which I can't even believe I'm talking about right now like it's a normal thing."  
  
The look in her eyes told guilted me incredibly, like she was going to be heartbroken if I turned her down.  
  
"Okay, I'll hang out for a bit," I replied before dropping my towel to the ground and taking a seat on it.  
  
"Not **here** ," she replied with an amused smirk. "I'm not sitting out here in the stuffy, old hallway. Come back to my place."  
  
I raised my eyebrows in surprise as I picked up my towel and got back to my feet. I thought about it for a moment before shrugging casually.  
  
"Why not?" I replied. She laughed before leading me on the brief trip to the elevators nearby. **This** was more of the Samantha I remembered.  
  
  
As she pressed the 'up' button, a thought popped up in my head.  
  
"Won't your parents flip if they see me just walk in with my bathingsuit on? I mean, I'm not even dried off yet."  
  
"They're out for the rest of the day," she replied as the elevator doors opened. As we got in, she pressed for her floor, near the top of the building, before turning to me with a sly smirk. "We have the whole place all to ourselves."  
  
I was surprised by how flirtatious that last remark was. Still, I was **not** one to complain if a girl had taken interest in me – especially not one as beautiful as her. I just casually leaned against the back wall of the elevator with a content smile, watching the numbers light up as the elevator made its upward climb.


	16. Samantha

I followed with Samantha off the elevator after we reached her floor. I took a quick glance at the windowed wall by the elevators to see the rain picking up.  
  
"Man, it is coming down now," I said.  
  
"Good thing we got out of there when we did," she replied, turning to me with a smile. "Looks like we're in for some rough weather. Don't worry though, we'll be safe at my place."  
  
"My savior," I joked, drawing a laugh out of her.  
  
Her apartment was all the way at the far end of the building. It was one of the biggest sizes of apartments with three bedrooms in it. She whipped out her keys and unlocked the door, allowing me to go inside first.  
  
"After you," she politely said.  
  
"Thank you kindly, ma'am." She grinned as I joked with her once again before I walked inside.  
  
"Wow," I remarked as I looked around the place. "It looks **a lot** different from when I was last here. A lot less ... 'nineties.'" Previously, the place was chock-full of color. Colorful carpet, bedrooms their own individual colors, even the rugs were eye-catching. It had become a ton more modern styled. No more color - there was just a **lot** of white. Floor-to-ceiling, white. Glass tables with metallic legs. The only real color around was the accented flowers placed with an almost surgical precision so that one's eyes didn't dare catch more than one at a time.  
  
"Yeah," she replied as she shut the door behind her. "My parents hired a designer. They told him, 'make this place look more grown-up,' and this is what he came up with. My parents love it, but I kind of miss our old rainbow theme."  
  
"It definitely felt like a fun house for me every time I used to come over here as a kid."  
  
"I know, right?" she concurred as she led me into the living room.  
  
  
"Wow," I reiterated at the sight of the large, all-white room. It wasn't a blinding white, though, it was ... nice. It felt like a room to just relax in. I could see why her parents liked it. That's when I noticed a large, mishmash of color on the floor. It was one of those eye-catching rugs I remembered.  
  
"I see your parents still kept the crazy rug from the old living room."  
  
"It's a little reminder of the old look. 'A piece of the past used for the future' is what they said." We both chuckled. Suddenly, the wind whipped at the sliding glass doors, catching our attention.  
  
"Jeez," I calmly said, "what a day I picked to go swimming."  
  
"Same." She glanced at my towel and then held up a finger for me to wait. "Hang on just a sec."  
  
She quickly shuffled around the corner, leaving me to gaze around the room some more and take in the sights. It was amazing how things change. I guess **I** should know that. Samantha quickly shuffled on back and handed me a fresh, very fluffy towel.  
  
"Here," she said, drying herself off with one of her own.  
  
"Hey, thanks," I replied with a smile whilst drying myself off more thoroughly. She also took my own towel from me.  
  
"I'll just put this away for now," she said. "You go ahead and sit down on the couch."  
  
"Okay," I replied while she shuffled away again. I placed the new, nicer towel on the seat of the – surprisingly – white couch and took a seat on it. I looked out at the rain pouring down hard outside, idly reminiscing about the old days with Samantha. I always knew her to be fun and really full of life. It was nice to see that coming back after the initially cold reception she gave me. I remember slipping and falling while playing in the rain one time and how quickly she ran over check on me. She genuinely cared about me, but I wasn't terribly good at realizing that when I had bloomed into my rambunctious teenage years. Being shut out by her all this time was definitely **not** on my list of life accomplishments.  
  
  
A few minutes later, Samantha rounded the corner back into the living room. She still had on her swimsuit, a coffee mug held in each hand.  
  
"Here you go," she said, handing me one of the mugs.  
  
"Thanks," I replied with some confusion whilst looking at it. "Tea?" I asked when the steamy scent of orange hit my nose.  
  
"Yeah, it's my favorite kind." She smiled and took a seat next to me. "I figured why not enjoy a hot cup of tea after getting out of the cold, wet rain?"  
  
"Sounds good. Very ... cozy." She giggled before she took a sip of her tea. She then placed the mug on a coaster, sliding a spare one down the glass table for me. I wasn't terribly fond of boring, old tea but I decided to give it a sip. Then two sips.  
  
"Mm, this is really good!" I remarked. Before long, I had finished the whole darn cup and placed it on the table with a satisfied sigh. She looked quite happy to see I enjoyed it.  
  
"So," she said, turning to me while settling into the back cushion of the couch, "first thing's first: Are you some kind of mutant?" I laughed. She grinned and upped the volume so I could hear her over my laughter, "And, follow-up question: Are you radioactive?"  
  
"I can definitely say 'no' to both," I replied with a big smile. "But that's the thing – I don't even know how I got this power or why."  
  
She looked at me fondly and shook her head in disbelief.  
  
"This is so surreal," she quietly said. "You – Anthony, the kid I tried to avoid at all costs for some time but, more important, a very good friend before that." I smiled and nodded gently. "To think that you ... you got, like, **superpowers**. ... I feel like I'm in a movie or something where I should probably be way more panicky or jumpy about this ... but I look at you and you're so relaxed, so ... casual about it. It makes me not freak."  
  
"I've had a good amount of time to come to terms with it and get used to it."  
  
"Maybe you're part of a government experiment, you know?"  
  
"I thought the very same thing," I replied with an upbeat voice, causing her to laugh. "Who knows – maybe there's a microchip in my brain or something."  
  
"That's some incredible technology!"  
  
"Yeah," I agreed with a nod. "So, how have you been?"  
  
"Good, actually. Been spending time with friends, working on my swimming, getting swamped with homework."  
  
"Replace 'working on swimming' with 'managing mind-boggling superpower' and I've been doing the same." She laughed again. "Any boys you like?"  
  
She smiled and rolled her eyes. "Uhh, there's this _one_..."  
  
"Oh yeah? Is he the tall, dark, handsome man of your dreams?"  
  
"No, nothing like that. He's just a boy from my swim class. I ... think he likes me, but then again, I think he **likes** to spend time staring at my boobs."  
  
"I don't blame him," I casually replied, letting my eyes wander to her chest.  
  
"Oh, shut up!" she exclaimed with a laugh while slapping my arm.  
  
"What?! I'd rather be honest with you than just totally ignore the two, huge, gigantic elephants in the room!"  
  
"You're a jerk!" she squealed, the two of us laughing for a moment.  
  
  
She then looked **me** over with a smirk. "So, what about you? Any girls you're looking to get with?"  
  
"Not seriously," I said with some mystery in my voice.  
  
"Oh? What's that mean, huh? Have you been ... gettin' busy?" she asked with a playful grin.  
  
"Uhh, well, if you're putting me on the spot ... yeah, sort of."  
  
"Sort of?" she replied, her eyebrows raising in surprise. "Does that mean you went all the way?"  
  
"Yeah," I casually said with a shrug.  
  
"Wow," she remarked, her eyes full of intrigue. "What's it like?"  
  
I was taken aback by her question. "Well, aren't **you** getting a little personal?" I teased.  
  
"I'm just curious. I mean, if we're being honest, I've ... never actually done it myself." She rubbed her arm awkwardly, like that was supposed to be something to be ashamed of.  
  
I reassuringly told her, "You've got a whole lifetime yet."  
  
"Yeah, I guess," she replied with a nervous chuckle before looking away.  
  
  
Things fell quiet between us for a short time. I kept looking over at the rainy weather outside which had gotten torrential. Finally, she spoke up to break the silence.  
  
"Hey, can I ask you a favor and you'll promise not to be weirded out?"  
  
"O~kay ...?" I asked, a little suspicious.  
  
She fidgeted with her hands for a moment, looking away from me as she mustered up the courage to speak again.  
  
She blurted out, "Would you kiss me?" I looked at her in surprise. "I know, I sound like **a huge** loser right now to have to ask. I just ... never did that before, either."  
  
"I'm cool with it," I reassured her with a smile. "And I really would not think of you as a loser. Not after the stuff I've done to you."  
  
"Follow-up request," she added as she scooted herself closer to me. "Could you kiss me like ... that girl you went all the way with?"  
  
"Sure," I replied. Our lips then met for a very brief second before I playfully pulled away. "There you go."  
  
"Oh, come on!" she whined as I laughed. "Be serious."  
  
"Are you sure you can _handle_ my kind of serious?"  
  
"I can handle anything you give me," she quietly replied with a surprising amount of seductiveness. I quirked an eyebrow and smiled as she leaned back in to kiss me once again. I put an arm around her, pulling her a bit closer and feeling her sigh against my lips. Then, I went in for the kill, pressing my lips much deeper than she must have expected since she tried to gasp for air. I chuckled, helping guide her into an engaging lip lock. She took a little time to get going at first, but soon she was eagerly following my lead.  
  
  
When our lips finally parted from each other, she stared incredulously at me.  
  
" **Wow** ," she remarked in amazement. "You're ... I had no idea you were such a great kisser." I grinned and gently laughed. "I forgot where I even was for a little bit there."  
  
"Well, that's what happens when you're with **the man** ," I joked, playfully flexing my arms and posing. She laughed and pushed my arms back down.  
  
"Okay, settle down there, tiger." I smiled and watched her as she looked at my chest. She slowly bit her lip, letting it quietly pop from her mouth. "You know, you were talking about **my** looks a little bit ago. I think you ... look really good, too."  
  
"Thanks," I replied, more than happy to take the compliment.  
  
She then surprised me as her hands began to gently run up and down my chest. I gazed curiously at her while she just stared back at me with a soulful look in her eyes.  
  
"It's been so long since I've seen you. I couldn't have imagined you'd grow to be so handsome. You're starting to look like a man now - so much different than the little boy I used to know."  
  
I could only fathom how deeply she had missed me through the forlorn look in her eyes. She reached up, touching my face with a delicate hand. A gentle smile spread across her lips, and I returned the smile back to her. It felt nice to be in her company again. We sat there calmly for a few minutes in the peaceful quiet. Outside, the rain wildly whipped around in the cold air.  
  
  
She leaned in once more, planting her lips over mine. While we engaged into another kiss, she calmly slid her body over my lap. She held my shoulders, our kiss lasting for just a few moments more. She broke away and looked at me with a playful grin.  
  
"What about me? Do you think I've grown, too?"  
  
"Uh, yes, definitely," I replied with a smirk. "You used to be 'pencil girl.' Now you're all grown and ... you look amazing. Puberty did some very good things to you."  
  
She softly giggled, leaning in closer to me. "You know what I'd like?" her voice lowered seductively.  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"I'd like it if **you** did good things to me, too ..."  
  
Samantha grinned at me with an eager mischievousness. She gently stuck out her chest a few times as her body slowly rubbed against me. I knew she was being serious. Her eyes stared intensely at me, awaiting my next move. Well, who was I to turn down such an offer?  
  
"Are you sure you want to do this?" I softly asked.  
  
"Mm-hmm, no doubt," she quickly responded.  
  
I watched as she slowly, almost teasingly so, pulled down the tight straps of her swimsuit. I swallowed gently, my eyes shifting between her face and her chest. She continued down, revealing her incredible breasts to me. I was very happy with what I was seeing. I tried to keep myself from staring at them, switching my gaze to look up at her. Both of us had an eager grin on our faces before she pressed her lips into my own.  
  
I began to kiss my way into her neck, listening to her sighing in pleasure. The corners of my mouth were curled into a grin, excited that she really wanted to do this with me. I laved my tongue around the lightly tan skin of her neck. I felt her pulse racing, the temperature of her body rising. My kisses went down her collarbone. Her body shifted upward to greet me as I eagerly made my way into the cleft of her great breasts.  
  
  
Samantha exhaled passionately while I licked and kissed my way around her warm, semi-firm orbs. She shivered with delight each time I sucked hard upon her nipples and then let the pressure of my mouth suddenly release them with a pop. She moaned softly and warmly to me, keeping me close to her breast with a hand behind my head. At the same time, she was grinding herself against my thigh with eager sighs of desire.  
  
"Keep going ...," she quietly pleaded. "Please keep going ..."  
  
I squeezed the base of her breasts tight, pushing their shape out even further, sucking back and forth between her nipples. There was only so much of her eager panting and writhing body begging me onward that I could take. It wasn't long before I put an arm around her back and swiftly laid her down upon the couch.  
  
"Wait," she stopped me, much to my confusion. "Not here." She then pointed backward to the nearby open door. "In there."  
  
"That's your parents' room," I said in surprise.  
  
She slyly smirked. "I know ...," she softly replied.  
  
My eyes lit up with intrigue. I had no idea when she got so seductive, but I was **definitely** loving it.  
  
Samantha put her arms around my neck as I lifted her up off the couch by her butt. I quickly headed into the bedroom, both of us kissing and quietly laughing along the way. Her parents' bedroom was painted just as white as the rest of the place. I didn't really give it much thought whilst laying her head down on the pillow of the king-size bed.  
  
I quickly got my bathingsuit removed. She hungrily watched me while also removing her own swimsuit. I finished faster than her and ended up helping claw her clothing off. Then, I swiftly climbed onto the bed and propped myself over her. Both of us just stared at each other in amazement for a moment, soaking in just how far we'd gone already. She reached down, taking hold of my very erect member. I stayed in place, allowing her to stroke and caress it. Our eyes gazed deep with a burning desire for one another.  
  
"You are **so** hot," I said to her, my excitement peaking. "Like really, really hot."  
  
"Mm, you're hotter than hot," she purred. "You're hotter than the **sun**."  
  
I didn't really feel like arguing with her over which of us was hotter. I just wanted to keep on going further.  
  
  
Samantha read my thoughts since the next thing she did was slip her hands behind my hips, eagerly pulling me between her open, amazing thighs. Her lovely swimmer legs closed around me, her body trembling in anticipation of what was next. Her hands slid up to my chest as she gave a hiss, feeling my swollen head push into her. She gave a sharp gasp before both of us groaned in awe from the sensation of our bodies joining together as one.  
  
It took me just a brief moment to begin rhythmically pushing myself firmly into her. She grunted deeply in lustful bliss as we explored the wonder of sex together. Her legs, crossed behind my hips, gently slid and rubbed against my skin. She was so beautifully tight and hot around me as I eagerly took her virgin body on the ride of a lifetime.  
  
"Oh, my god," she moaned. "This feels so good ..."  
  
It felt so right being with her like this. It was safe and comfortable being her lover because of how well I knew her. I could only imagine she was feeling the same way.  
  
I stopped momentarily to shift my weight onto my forearms. I then tucked my arms under her back and held her against me. She smiled at me, happily wrapping her arms around my neck as we kissed. I quickly picked back up where we left off, savoring the amazing pleasure of making love with my best friend from childhood.  
  
Our hot bodies slapped together in harmonious bliss. Samantha's lust-filled eyes gazed up at me with a big smile on her face. She was so overjoyed to be doing this with me, and I with her. She was _so_ beautiful, and as sweet as I remembered.  
  
She panted and whispered, "This is **so** wonderful ..."  
  
"I care about you so much, Samantha ..." I quietly spoke. She grinned and touched my face.  
  
"I care for you, too. ... I've always kept you so close to my heart and I always will ..."  
  
  
I began to drive myself harder, deeper inside of her. I amorously watched her gorgeous, sweaty breasts jump with each powerful stroke of my hips. The wind changed direction, blowing a gust of rain onto the sliding glass door. The flowing rain cast its shadow upon our intertwined bodies euphorically wrapped in a lover's embrace. She laid her head back, tossing and turning in ecstasy as she happily took every last one of my eager thrusts into her.  
  
She shouted, "God, yes, this is amazing! Please don't stop for anything in the world!"  
  
"Ohh, Samantha ..." I lustfully uttered, trying to hold out as her walls were clamped down like a hot vice around me.  
  
She panted and cried out at the top of her lungs, holding onto me for dear life. Her body incessantly quaked and writhed in heat. I was shoving my hips furiously into her own, both of us simply yearning to sate our overwhelming lust. I held the floodgates closed for as long as I could but just as I reached the breaking point, she did as well. Somehow, I'd managed to time it perfectly.  
  
I grit my teeth and immediately pulled out of her just as she squealed in ecstasy and came upon the sheets. I spilled my seed through the cleft of her big, sweat-covered breasts and down her belly. We gasped and moaned, our bodies jerking and bucking together in delight.  
  
I rolled over onto my side, both of us collapsed atop the bed. We panted heavily, catching our breath, staring up at the ceiling for a few minutes. I couldn't believe how things had turned out. A year ago, I would've never imagined I'd ever see Samantha again. Now, she and I reunited and just went all the way – on her parents' bed, no less. Things could not have felt better. I was happy, she was happy.  
  
  
I gazed over at her and she looked at me with a big smile. I felt like my past and my present had come full circle as I looked into her eyes.  
  
"Thank you for that," she softly said.  
  
"I should be the one thanking **you** ," I replied, causing her to laugh.  
  
"You were so wonderful, Anthony. That was ... **so** beautiful. I couldn't have asked for a better first time."  
  
"I'm glad I could make you happy," I replied with a big smirk. "The feeling is mutual."  
  
She softly giggled, both of us gazing back up at the ceiling.  
  
"You know," she said, "I was thinking about you, like, a month or so ago."  
  
"How come?" I curiously asked.  
  
"I was just thinkin' ... about sex ..."  
  
"Wow, you're worse than me."  
  
"I really doubt **that** ," she remarked, both of us chuckling. "I was thinking ... about all the guys I knew and who I'd trust to, you know, be my first. ... You're the only one I could think of."  
  
I looked over at her again, an expression of surprise upon my face.  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"Because, you ... were the sweetest boy I ever knew. You meant a lot to me. You made me happy and you were my best friend for a long time. I always felt comfortable around you because you were just so much fun. That's why it hurt so much when ... well, you know ..."  
  
  
I reached down and grabbed her hand, prompting her to look over at me with a sorrowful smile.  
  
"I'm really, really sorry for chasing you away like that. I was stupid back then and I couldn't see that I was losing the best friend I ever had. You meant a lot to me, too – you still do."  
  
"Thank you," she whispered, sniffling. "I accept your apology wholeheartedly. ... I'm just glad to have you back, Anthony."  
  
"It's good to be back, Samantha," I replied before lifting her hand up and placing a kiss upon it. She laughed and sniffled, wiping away a couple of rogue tears from her eyes. She gazed to the ceiling once more, taking a deep breath and shakily sighing. She held my hand a little tighter, both of us relaxing in silence for a moment or two.  
  
"You're the only guy I've ever done this with," she said. "And ... you're definitely the only one that deserves it ..."  
  
"Wow," I remarked in surprise. "Well, thank you for that honor."  
  
She smiled and laughed, both of us gazing happily at each other after making love as two very happily reunited friends.  
  
  
Samantha then glanced over at the clock.  
  
"Oh, crap," she remarked before calmly getting up.  
  
"What is it?" I asked as I followed her lead.  
  
"My parents are going to be home soon, and I gotta clean up and you shouldn't be here since my parents keep telling me not to have friends over when they're gone ..."  
  
I smiled and nodded. "All right, then," I replied before putting my bathingsuit back on.  
  
"I'll talk to you soon."  
  
"Yep. I'm not going anywhere."  
  
She smiled brightly. "My thoughts exactly. See ya later."  
  
"See ya." She stroked my arm before I left the room.  
  
"Don't forget your towel!" she called out to me.  
  
"Oh, right," I muttered, heading back to the couch real quick to grab the towel I'd left on the seat. I then took my leave from her place, closing the door behind me. I smiled as I gazed up at the apartment number, a number I hadn't come face-to-face with in quite some time. But it was incredible to be back.  
  
  
After I got home, I headed for the bathroom to get cleaned up and changed. When I brought the towel to drop into the hamper, I realized I didn't recognize it. That's when my heart sank. I still had Samantha's towel — mine was still at her house.  
  
"Uh-oh," I muttered.  
  
Well, there was nothing I could do about it at that point. Going back up to Samantha's apartment while her parents were there to hand her back her own towel would've been incredibly awkward and involve a lot of explaining that I'm not sure either of us wanted to do. She was always very smart – smart enough to make up a cover story. I didn't worry about it too much and headed into the shower.  
  
That evening, I got a rather calm buzzing sensation in my head. My extrasensory senses perked up to alert me that someone was arriving. A few seconds later, there was a gentle knock at the front door. I chuckled and hopped out of my computer chair, certain of who it was. I sensed her presence - getting a calm, relaxed vibe from her. I grabbed hold of her towel from the bathroom and headed for the door. Upon opening it, I smiled at Samantha, who greeted me with a smile back. _My_ towel was in her hands.  
  
"What did you tell your parents?" I asked as we calmly swapped towels.  
  
"I told them a half-truth. A friend came over after we met up at the pool and ... stayed for a while."  
  
"A _guy_ friend?" I playfully asked, draping the towel over my shoulder.  
  
"A girl friend," she replied with a grin. "I really don't need them to start getting ideas about having a guy over."  
  
"Cause they're **totally** unfounded, right?"  
  
"Right," she laughed. "... You know, it's not like I just planned from the moment I saw you that I wanted to ... **do it** with you. Or after the time-stop thing, or on the way up the elevator, or when we walked into my place. ... Sitting there on the couch with you was so ... pleasant. I felt like it was the good, old days all over again. I was just really happy to be with you and to talk with you like a normal, fun-loving person again. I guess I just got ... overwhelmed by it all."  
  
"So did I," I softly said. "That, and the fact that you're really beautiful."  
  
She laughed again. "Thanks. ... Well, guess I'll see you around soon."  
  
"I guess you will."  
  
She gave me an adorable grin that got me smiling as well before taking her leave. That smile was pretty much pasted on my face as I shut the door and went to put my towel away. As I sat back down in front of the computer, I reminisced for a moment about Samantha and the amazing time we had together. She was right about getting to hang out together – it felt like old times for me as well. I was glad that she hadn't changed at all. Moreover, I was glad that I was finally able to do right by her and patch things up. I realized how much that meant to her.  
  
Being able to atone for my past transgressions fulfilled me in a way I could've never imagined. Finally getting to speak my mind, open up my innermost thoughts to the people around me. From the moment it all began with Jennifer, snowballing all the way to Ms. Adanna and now to Samantha. It felt good, to say the least.  
  
Still, there was one more person I had to tie up loose ends with. Someone who I've had feelings for during the majority of the school year thus far. Of course I'm talking about the one who I'd had a tiny, little, microscopic, insignificant, teeny-weeny, totally-not-a-crush crush on. I never did get to talk to her seriously after Jordan and I had our heart-to-heart chat. My sixteen days of winter vacation were coming to an end – time to go back to school.  
  
  
I was amazed at how surprisingly refreshing it was to get back onto school grounds. Well, that was mostly because I actually had things to look forward to again. My friends, as delightfully crazy as they are, were more than happy to see me. I was always happy to see them, too. That included, of course, Eve who greeted me with a hug and a kiss since that was the new norm. In the hallway outside of Algebra, I ran into none other than Tamara. I laughed and grinned as she approached from the other direction. She was wearing the shirt that I got for her birthday.  
  
"Hey, you," I happily greeted her.  
  
"Hey!" she exclaimed, sharing a friendly hug with me.  
  
"You have great taste in fashion," I told her as we stood together.  
  
"Thanks," she sweetly said. "I really wanted to wear this to show that, after all of the stuff that happened, I'm on Team Anthony."  
  
"Wow," I remarked, touched by the remark, "that's really, ... wow." She giggled in amusement. "Never thought of myself being some kind of team to join, but I really appreciate it."  
  
"I appreciate _you_ ," she said before leaning in to give me a kiss on the cheek. That was a great feeling I would never be able to get enough of. The two of us then headed into the classroom together.  
  
"So, are we like some kind of softball team or something?" I joked, grinning happily. She laughed in response and nodded.  
  
"If you want to be," she replied just before we parted away.  
  
We took our seats just before the bell rang to begin class. It was time for everybody to take our their study books and get back to learning. Having plenty of time to rest my brain made me eager to get back into it.  
  
  
Once the bell rang, I certainly wasn't going to get away without a visit from a certain fiery-tempered classmate. Tamara and I hugged and said our goodbye's with her planting one more kiss on my cheek. As I walked out into the hallway in a overjoyed daze, I seemed to unconsciously put my weight onto my right foot. It was enough to absorb most of the impact from Elizabeta rushing out and shoving me extra hard from the left.  
  
"Hey!" she squealed. "Missed me? You better say 'yes' or I'll kick your ass right here."  
  
I smirked and pretended to feign interest. "Hmm ... I _guess_ I did ..."  
  
"You perro," she said with a big grin before slapping my arm. I returned the physicality by putting my arm around her and holding her close to me while we walked. She squealed again and laughed in response.  
  
"So, what was with the big shove you gave me?" I asked.  
  
"That was for all the days I missed out on from vacation," she replied before leaning in and whispering, " **and** for fucking me."  
  
"Do you regret it or something?" I asked, curious.  
  
" **Hell** no. But I still have to keep you in line like the dog you are, papi."  
  
I couldn't help but chuckle, glad to know she was the same as always.  
  
  
As we passed by Spanish, my next class, I let go of her and gave her a playful slap on the butt.  
  
"Aii!" she playfully shrieked. She turned to me with an excited grin, and a sizzling look in her jade green eyes that told me she definitely liked that. She then gave me a very 'friendly' middle finger. I laughed and waved to her. She walked away, keeping the same big grin on her face. I took a deep breath and sighed happily while heading into class.  
  
Inside, Sarah had already taken her seat on time – pen and paper ready on her desk. That didn't surprise me, considering how much of a bright, model student she was. She was always eager to learn. I could only hope that my grades would eventually look as good as hers.  
  
"Hey, welcome back," Sarah said.  
  
"And to you, too," I politely replied with a smile before sitting down at my desk.  
  
That's when I watched Jordan quickly shuffle on by me to take her seat. She looked at me with a suspicious grin before reaching into her backpack to get her materials. After I turned back around, I heard Sarah and Jordan giggle to each other behind me. I smiled and shook my head, wondering what those two were up to.  
  
  
I was mildly distracted during class. Not just because of the fact that Ms. Adanna was wearing a **beautiful** blue tight evening dress, but because I was also trying to think of what to say to Sarah come lunchtime. Before that, let me get back to talking about Ms. Adanna for just a minute. _Wow._ I had no idea if she was dressed like that because she had a date later, or if she just wanted to look nice. _Very_ nice, in fact. Maybe, though, just maybe ... she was dressed like that for **me**. All I knew was that she looked amazing and I was very tempted to have another time-stopped romp with her if my mind wasn't already preoccupied.  
  
I wrote a little note to Sarah on a small piece of paper. In it, I quickly explained to her that I wanted to have a chat with her one-on-one during lunch. I casually dropped the paper over my shoulder in a way reminiscent of how I would irritate the living hell out of Jennifer. I heard her unfurl the note. I then turned my head to the side, watching her smile and nod to me. I nodded back and returned to our lesson for the day.  
  
When lunch finally came around, I was a little nervous but so much more excited. Getting to finally confess my innermost feelings to Sarah– ... I mean, feelings? What feelings? Well, regardless, I knew it was going to be super refreshing to lay out all my cards on the table for her.  
  
Sarah, Jordan and myself all headed out at the same time.  
  
"So, what did ya want to chat about?" Sarah softly asked.  
  
Jordan couldn't help butting in. "Ooh, the two of you are going to have a _private_ chat, huh?"  
  
"Yeah," I calmly replied. "There were some things I wanted to talk to Sarah about."  
  
Jordan was able to tell that this chat meant a lot for me. She knew what I was going to tell her, since she already knew herself.  
  
"How about I run on up ahead and buy us all a slice of pizza?" Jordan suggested. "That way it'll be ready for you by the time you get there and guys can _chat_ along the way."  
  
"Thank you," I smiled to her. "I appreciate it."  
  
"Sounds good," Sarah concurred.  
  
Jordan chuckled softly. "You guys take your time."  
  
  
Jordan then jogged on ahead, leaving Sarah and I casually striding behind. The halls were already starting to thin out as most of the other students flew past us.  
  
"What's up?" Sarah asked. I smirked and chuckled.  
  
"I'm sure Jordan already filled you in on most of what I wanted to say."  
  
A big grin slowly crept across her face. "Abo~ut?"  
  
"Look at you, you're about to laugh!" I exclaimed, both of us bursting out with a laugh. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."  
  
"Okay, okay, fine," she admitted with a nod. "I mean, we **are** like sisters. She tells me everything and I tell her everything."  
  
"I figured." I smiled, keeping my gaze forward. "For a while, I ... had a pretty ... _minor_ crush on you, I would say."  
  
"Uh-huh," she playfully replied. She knew it wasn't as minor as I'd been saying all along. "Well, I didn't need Jordan to tell me that. I already knew."  
  
"Was I that obvious?" I asked as I looked over at her.  
  
"Uhh, ... yes." I softly laughed in response. "But you're a sweetheart, Anthony - you really are. I'm so, so, _so_ glad to have you as a friend. You've been great to me."  
  
  
I casually led her down the opposite hallway than the one which would've taken us to the courtyard with Jordan.  
  
"Why are we going this way?" she asked.  
  
"Just to talk for a few more minutes. I doubt Jordan will miss us."  
  
She laughed. "All right," she replied with some curiosity in her voice.  
  
I led her outside, out to the area where the school buses would normal line up at the beginning and end of the day. At lunchtime, though, it was totally quiet. Peaceful, just like I could hope for.  
  
"It's a really nice day out," I remarked, looking up at the picture-perfect blue sky and feeling the cool air gently breeze by.  
  
"It really is. I love it when it gets like this. Reminds me of back home."  
  
"Oh yeah? Where's home?"  
  
"South Carolina," she replied, and I nodded. She sighed happily, gazing up at the few clouds in the sky. "Days like this remind me of when I was a little girl. 'Round this time, the leaves would be piling up and me and my friends would **love** to play around in them."  
  
"I have some great memories of this time of the year, too. But, there's still plenty more to be made." She turned to me with a sweet smile that just about made my heart melt. "I'm glad you moved down here and gave me the honor of meeting you."  
  
"That's sweet," she quietly replied. Then, I took her hand in mine. She looked at me with an incredibly curious gaze.  
  
  
"Sarah," I began, preparing to spill my guts, "... you are super, super amazing and wonderfully sweet and beautiful. I mean, like, _wow_ you're gorgeous."  
  
She looked so incredibly touched by that. Her head tilted, grinning uncontrollably.  
  
"Anthony, you're gonna make me blush," she shyly said. And that, right there, was the reason I found her so lovely and so wonderful. She was so real.  
  
"Good. It'll remind me of how real and honest you are with yourself." She looked awe-struck gazing at me. "I know that you belong to someone else, but I still really like you. You are ... super warm and caring and you make me feel like I matter. Also, you're beautiful." She giggled in embarrassment. "I just wanted to emphasize that. ... You're amazing. Whoever this guy is that you're with is ... **so** lucky to have you and he'd better treat you like you're the best thing he's got going for him - because you deserve it. And if he doesn't see that, then he's completely dense." Then, I gave a big sigh of relief. At the same time, the tears were already welled up in her eyes. " **That** ... is everything I have wanted to say to you for the past four months but I could never muster up the courage to do it. Now that I have, it feels **so** good ... like a huge weight is off my shoulders. I know that's super cliché," she let out a shaky laugh, "but I mean it. Every word."  
  
She sniffled, letting go of my hand to take off her glasses and wipe her eyes. "Thank you so much, Anthony. You are ... a wonderful guy. You're gonna to make some lucky girl feel like she's the queen of the flippin' world someday."  
  
"I'm sorry for making you cry ..."  
  
"It's okay," she softly interjected.  
  
"... but I just really, really had to tell you all that. It was really important to me, and thank you for giving me the time to listen to me."  
  
"Of course," she nodded in understanding.  
  
'Time.' Ha, how I loved that word nowadays.  
  
  
I let Sarah calm down and replace her glasses before I continued on.  
  
"Well," I spoke up again with a big, eager grin. "now that I'm already airing out my secrets, there's one more that I have to tell you."  
  
She smiled as she saw my expression. "You seem pretty excited about it."  
  
"I am!" She laughed. "Okay, brace yourself for this. You ready?"  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
I exclaimed, throwing my hands outward in a flourish, "I can freeze time!"


	17. Sarah

Sarah stared at me in disbelief for a moment. I grinned and raised my eyebrows, waiting for her to reply. She gave her response in the form of an amused chortle.  
  
"That's cute," she said. "Is that like a metaphor or somethin'? Like, you can ... run real fast, right?"  
  
"I'll show you," I replied.  
  
I looked around for another show-and-tell opportunity. Like clockwork, a staff member walked out of the same door that we'd just come out from. He was a _deus ex machina_ for sure.  
  
"How you kids doing?" he casually asked as he walked by.  
  
"Good, thanks," Sarah replied with a smile. I simply watched him as he passed on by us.  
  
Just as he was about to round the corner down to the long sidewalk, I blinked and stopped time. Sarah sensed the gentle breeze come to a silent halt.  
  
"Jeez, what happened to the wind?" she asked as she curiously looked around. I folded my hands across my chest, a playful smirk on my face.  
  
"So, remember how I said I could freeze time?"  
  
"Yeah?" she replied with confusion in her voice.  
  
"I wasn't joking," I replied, casually pointing a thumb to the staff member who was - surprise, surprise - immobile. Sarah stared at him for a long moment before cautiously approaching him with a confused scoff.  
  
"You're totally pullin' a prank on me right now," she remarked before her voice got quieter, "... right?" I shook my head.  
  
"I know that you and Jordan and I have played little pranks on each other before ... but I'm not lying about this, Sarah. I really do have the power to stop and start time at will."  
  
  
My words played out in her head while she inspected the man with big, curious eyes. I smiled gently as I walked up to her. She was affixed to this guy, waving her hand in front of his face. She then touched his shirt and gasped.  
  
"He's like ... a stone statue or something!"  
  
I shrugged nonchalantly. "That's what happens when someone is bound in time and we're not. It's impossible to move him, even the tiniest bit."  
  
"But ... but-but you're so **calm!** And he ... and he's ... he ..." she trailed off before losing her balance.  
  
"Whoa!" I exclaimed with a laugh as I quickly caught her in my arms. "You okay?"  
  
"I'm totally gonna ... I'm gonna faint ..."  
  
Blinking time back on at that point was probably not the best idea. So, I carried her over to the grass - which I'd remembered to make mobile so as not to spear me - and gently laid her down on it. I calmly plopped down beside her while she stared up at the motionless sky, calming her breathing.  
  
  
"I can wait for you to relax for a few minutes," I said, "then I can just ... turn time back on."  
  
"I'll be fine. ... I think," she replied, looking at me with a slightly worried expression. "So, ... how long have you been able to do this ... thing?"  
  
"Not that long," I said, glancing over at the school. "It's been about a month now."  
  
"Why'd you wait to ... tell me?"  
  
"I had to build up the nerve," I replied, gazing down at the grass. "You know me, I haven't really opened up too much. I've only just now been able to tell you ... how I felt about you. I kinda just wanted to throw everything out there at once, but I see now that I overloaded you," I said with a slight chuckle.  
  
"It's all right," she quietly said. I looked up at her to see her gentle smile. I always loved the way the sun shone across her golden hair and her delicate face. It brought a smile to my face as well. She gazed to the sky once again. "Ya' know, it's kind of peaceful ... in a way. Nothin' to bother you, no one to tell you what you can and can't do."  
  
"No one to interact with," I added. She curiously looked at me. "It's really lonely to just freeze time on a whim ... when you don't have anyone to share it with."  
  
She surprised me when she reached over and took my hand. She just smiled happily.  
  
"You have me," she replied. It did my heart all sorts of good to hear her say that.  
  
  
After a moment, she calmly sat up. I hopped to my feet, helping her to get to hers.  
  
"Thanks," she sweetly said, flashing me a smile.  
  
"So," I said as we stepped back onto the walkway, "I guess you want me to turn time back on, huh?"  
  
"Yeah," she replied before quickly adding, "wait."  
  
She had an oddly nervous look on her face as she stared at me.  
  
"What's wro–" was all I was able to get out before she suddenly shoved her lips over my own.  
  
Needless to say, I was surprised. Surprised enough that I didn't even put much effort into kissing her back. I just stared at her in disbelief like a stunned carp. She gently pulled away, smiling warmly, seeing my shock as nothing more than adorable.  
  
"Sorry," she softly said. "Didn't mean to surprise ya' like that."  
  
"That's okay," I casually replied, surprising _her_ as I put my arms around her and pulled her in close. "I just had to get in my zone."  
  
  
I leaned in close, taking her lips into my own for a gentle kiss. At first I kept things simple and slow as she had done earlier. When she got into it, that's when I really started to ramp up the passion - all while trying my best to avoid her glasses. She uttered a surprised moan, but still kept up with me. Our heads tilted in and out, lips mashing together in harmony. She reached up, grabbing my shirt tightly in both hands, moaning softly onto my lips as we'd engaged into a deeply amorous kiss.  
  
I pulled away for just a second, both of us panting softly as we gazed hungrily at one another. I gently removed her glasses, holding them behind her back. With my other hand, I gently stroked her soft cheek. She sighed quietly in content, a gentle smile forming across her lips. I let my fingertips explore her face, admiring her soft, pale features. My hand fell away just before the two of us went right back to passionately assaulting each others' lips.  
  
Both of us softly moaned and sighed. She hooked an arm around my neck, eagerly pulling herself closer to me. To think I was kissing the girl of my school day dreams. I'd imagined this moment and fantasized about it for the longest time. I'd always figured if we ever had a first kiss between us, it would be calm and delicate. I was more than happy with how magnetized we were toward each other, unable to get enough of the taste of each others' lips. Elated by the intimacy of our kiss, I reached up and gently squeezed her breast. I'd just taken a huge risk of completely ruining the mood and it was an awfully presumptuous move, but I **had** to know ... if there was chance she would let it go further.  
  
The way she looked at me when she suddenly broke away from our kiss made me feel like I just committed a horrible transgression. I let my hand fall away, unsure of what to say to her. However, she didn't chastise me or run away or even slap me. Instead, she took my hand and placed it back on her breast.  
  
"Jordan ... told me ...," she breathily said, "about the ... _other_ thing you said ... you thought about me."  
  
"And you're ... not mad or ... weirded out by it?" I asked.  
  
She shook her head. "No. ... I want to know ... just how you fantasize about me." Then, she leaned in and whispered, "Show me," before melding her lips back into mine.  
  
  
I casually slipped her glasses into her back pocket, freeing up my hand to amorously rub her back. At the same time, I happily squeezed and massaged her breasts with my other hand. Our lips popped and sucked one another, panting with increasing desire. Both of us were getting very excited. I wanted to stroke while the iron was hot.  
  
I kept an arm behind her back, my other hand protecting the back of her head before pressing her firmly against the wall behind her. Her lips broke away momentarily as she uttered a soft grunt. I immediately shoved my lips back over hers, our kiss becoming much heavier and lustful.  
  
Once I pulled away from the kiss, my lips darted into her neck. She moaned quietly in response, her head easing back for me. Both of us panted with eagerness. In the back of my mind, I was in complete and utter shock that this was really happening. All I could think about was how I just wanted her so badly – more than anything in the whole world. She was so spectacular, radiant and flawless in my eyes. I couldn't possibly have hid my intense desire for her at that point.  
  
The sweet scent of her perfume overtook my senses. I hungrily licked and sucked on her neck like it was made out of candy. She moaned in content while I practically coated her neck with my saliva. As I kissed downward - a blockade. Her shirt. My mind was racing, dazed with desire. I became obsessed with a single goal at a time. I had to get her shirt off as quickly as possible.  
  
I immediately reached down, grabbing the hem and whipping it upwards. She held her arms up as I quickly slid it up and threw it aside. That's when I found another blockade. I threw my hands behind her back, fiddling with the clasp of her bra until it came loose. I practically ripped it off her body, unable to get it off quickly enough.  
  
Then, I grabbed her wrists, hearing her gasp as I pinned them to the wall. I was possessed; primal. I didn't know if I was scaring her or exciting her at that point, until she spoke to me.  
  
"Show me," she panted. "Show me what it's like for me to be in your fantasies ..."  
  
Hearing that made me come to my senses for a moment. My eyes had lit up with excitement as I gazed into the sparkling eyes of the most beautiful girl I knew.  
  
"You're so amazing," I whispered. "I want you **so** badly."  
  
"I want you even _more_ ..." she whispered back.  
  
  
That's when I planted my lips back over hers, sharing a deeply passionate kiss with her. We moaned onto each others' lips, sucking and clamping upon one another's face. I then pulled away, taking my sucking and clamping down to her beautiful breasts. She moaned with a quickly increasing intensity, watching me as I licked all around her nipple and areola. I sucked hard on her breast and pulled my head back, practically trying to pull it off, before shoving my face deep into the soft mound of porcelain flesh. I swear the raging boner that I had for her was going to rip right through my jeans.  
  
I needed to have her, even just this one time, to finally quench the aching desire I've always had for her. She knew how intensely I wanted to take her – and she was completely receptive to it all.  
  
"Ohh, Anthony ...," she moaned.  
  
Hearing her voice call out to me like that was enough to push me onward.  
  
I let go of her wrists, immediately bringing my hands down. I continued sucking and licking her breasts for just a moment while I quickly undid her tight jeans. I pulled them and her panties down to her knees, where she took over and stepped out of them along with her shoes. Then, I stood up, greeting her with another intimate kiss.  
  
"You're so beautiful, Sarah," I whispered to her after our lips parted.  
  
"So are you," she whispered back. She gazed into my eyes with need.  
  
  
We kissed again for just a brief moment. At the same time, my fingertips stroked her inner thighs in circles, giving her an idea of where I was headed next. I quickly slid my hands behind her, taking firm hold of her soft, round butt. I kneaded and grasped it tightly, hearing her moan softly while I kissed and licked into her neck again. My hands stayed there as I kissed my way down the soft skin of her body. I knelt down, lifting one of her legs before eagerly taking my first lick of the perfect, beautiful slit between her thighs.  
  
I moaned as I hungrily, rapidly circled my tongue inside the folds of Sarah's most private body part. She held the back of my head, moaning back to me while gently rolling her body. The incomparable smell and the taste of her sex were doing everything they could to entice me back into a sexual frenzy. I sucked and slurped at her pristine, pale folds. I pulled back on them, hearing her gasp and feeling her jerk as I let them suddenly snap back. They gradually became more and more pink, especially after I began focusing solely on her protruding clit.  
  
Her head tilted back, moaning loudly as I rapidly flicked it with the tip of my tongue before sucking hard on it. She grabbed fistfuls of my hair, her body continuously jerking and trembling, overwhelmed by my fervent intensity.  
  
"Oh, Anthony!! Oh, god!!"  
  
Hearing Sarah cry out my name like that was so gratifying, but so was making her know that it was **me** doing all these incredible things to her lovely body. It was enough to get me to up the intensity even further. I quietly moaned and panted while lustfully attacking her clit without reprieve. Her body tensed, exhaling in quick, vocal pants. She gasped sharply, her body starting to snake and roll back and forth hard before I brought her to a dry orgasm. I stood up, putting an arm around her. She stared blankly to the sky, lost in her orgasm. She moaned and sighed deeply, her body jerking and trembling against me.  
  
I quickly took off my shirt with my free hand and undid my pants, pulling them down just enough to free my raging manhood. At the same time, I kissed and licked her neck, enhancing her climax while also helping bring her back to reality. I greeted her back on earth by lifting up her body by her butt, holding her against me. She put her arms around my neck and held me tight, hesitating not a second before wrapping her legs around my back. Even as she was still coming down off her climax she knew exactly where my mind was, and she welcomed it. She merely stared at me with the most intimate, sultry gaze I've ever seen. It hypnotized me, causing me to mindlessly shift my hips to point my very hard penis directly at her very wet folds.  
  
  
Sarah's pale skin was visibly flushed up and down her body. Both of us were so ready to take this leap together. I brought my hips in toward hers, feeling her legs gently twitch and tense at points as I slowly pushed myself inside her. I was so awe-struck by the sensation, groaning softly as her splendrous walls collapsed around me, casually breaking her virginity on my way in. She groaned as I gave a gentle thrust, firmly situating the rest of me deep inside her.  
  
"Oh god ...," she breathily whispered. "That really does not hurt like everyone says it will...."  
  
My legs shifted eagerly as I gave us both a moment to get accustomed to each other. I watched her panting and looking into my eyes with that same seductive gaze, resisting my instinctual urge to just tear through her right then and there.  
  
I leaned in to share a deep, amorous kiss with her. As we kissed, I got to work quickly driving my hips into her, exploring the glorious beauty beyond the gateway between her legs - the gateway that led directly into heaven itself. Sarah broke away from our kiss, panting and moaning in excitement. I panted heavily, joining her in the vocal splendor over the satisfaction of our bodies in harmonious union. Her lusty eyes stared adoringly into mine as her body rocked endlessly from my deep, impactful rhythm. I couldn't stop moving my hips, overwhelmed by her blissful, radiant heat that consumed not just my throbbing manhood - but my entire body.  
  
I pressed her firmly against the wall, suddenly driving my hips much harder and faster. Both of our voices intensified from the rapidly amplifying pleasure we shared. My gaze burned with lust as I stared intensely into her eyes. I was moved by her in a way that I never imagined I would be in the heat of sex. I wanted our moment of dreamy paradise together to be close and personal. I pulled her in, holding her as close as I could to my body. We moaned together in lust, panting heavily as our hearts raced in the midst of splendid love-making.  
  
Our bodies slapped together loudly, perspiring more and more with each passing second. I listened to the music of her sweet voice undulating from my deep, relentless thrusting. My head mindlessly drifted into her neck, where I felt safe with her. I was so entranced by Sarah's beauty and the ecstasy we shared. Everything about that short time we spent joined together in this blazing passion was so gratifying, like having my first time all over again.  
  
Maybe somewhere in my mind, this was my **real** first time.  
  
  
I held her tighter, panting and groaning into her neck in helpless lust - practically bathing myself in the sweet scent of her perfume. I felt so much intense emotion, holding this girl, sharing our bodies in an incredibly beautiful, incredibly personal moment of rapture. This girl that captured my heart and enriched my spirit from simply being in her presence. This girl that, dare I say it, I loved.  
  
I don't know what happened to me in that very moment, but I suddenly began to shove my hips into her like a fervid animal in heat. She cried out at the top of her lungs as she threw her head back. Our passions ignited like a burning wildfire, holding each other in the safety of our loving embrace.  
  
"Yeah ...!" she moaned. "Oh, **yeah** ...!"  
  
I wanted Sarah to feel me, to feel the months of pent-up emotion and the attachment I'd built up toward her. My body was dripping with sweat, mixing with the sweat of her hot, beautiful frame. My mind actually wanted to slow down for a brief moment - but my body wouldn't. I **had** to keep going. I had to drill every last ounce of affection and devotion I had for her into her body. I had to carve this memory into her mind so that I could be a part of her forever. Every thrust into her inconceivably hot, tight belly was for every moment of happiness she gave me — and there were a lot of moments.  
  
Sarah's body tensed around me, holding me even tighter. Her head fell back, baring her teeth as she shouted in ecstasy at the top of her lungs. She expelled every last bit of air into her blissful cries. Then, she reached her climax for a second time — and I just kept on going. I kept on going like I was running a marathon, holding out for just those last few moments to cross the finish line. I rammed my hips mercilessly into her trembling, climaxing body like a man possessed as I gave her the finale of all of my intense feelings for her. I couldn't hold back any longer at that point, forced to pull out of her as I reached my breaking point.  
  
I didn't even need to touch my penis, my body simply quaked in bliss as I ejaculated onto the wall behind her. Through the open slits between my eyelids, I made out her face watching me as I was lost the midst of heavenly ecstasy. She stared at me with such intrigue, holding her hand against my cheek, staring at me while I reached a plane of existence with her I never thought would've been possible. She allowed me this glorious opportunity and for that I was eternally grateful to her.  
  
The way Sarah held me against her made me feel completely safe. She rested her cheek against my own, affectionately stroking the back of my head as we rested, happy and very satisfied.  
  
My god ... did that really just happen?  
  
My only hope was that I'd given her a moment in time that she would never, ever forget for the rest of her life. A memory that she could come back to in her mind and still feel it physically, emotionally, spiritually - even many years and decades later. I was so very gratified for just those few minutes we shared in complete rapture. It bonded us so much deeper as close friends – and as lovers.  
  
  
I let her down onto her feet, neither of us quite ready to let go yet. I held her against the wall, continuing to rest in her neck. We must've stood there for several minutes. The whole time all I could really think about was how amazing she had been to me and how deeply I appreciated her. She was someone who legitimately cared about how I was doing, and she was fun to be around. She most certainly knew how to make me smile and, for that, I was thankful. It was the combination of all of that which had caused me to develop a crush on her. Of course, I could keep telling myself that it was miniscule and such, but it still stung to know I couldn't be with her. So, it'd lived up to its name as a 'crush' and I'd gotten crushed. Knowing that she was happy, however, was uplifting.  
  
Once I finally pulled away from her, she greeted me with a warm smile.  
  
"Thank you for everything," she whispered. "That was so wonderful. I'll never forget this, ever."  
  
"Same here, definitely," I softly replied.  
  
  
Afterward, Sarah and I put our clothes back on. She took out her glasses from her pocket, which had stayed perfectly intact, fitting them back to the bridge of her nose. She surprised me with another tight embrace when I turned to her. I was more than happy to accept those any time. When her arms fell away from me, she took a deep breath through her nose. I looked to her with a smile upon my face.  
  
"You good?" I asked.  
  
"Yeah," she said with a content sigh, "I'm **great** , actually." The two of us shared a laugh. She then took a brief look around. "It's so strange. ... How everything looks normal, but ... it's so quiet and so ... still. It really is peaceful, but after the way you explained it, it feels kind of like an eerie peaceful."  
  
"I know what you mean," I replied as I rested against the nearby wall. "The day I figured out I even had this power, I stopped time and walked around the city I lived in. For a little while, it was so cool knowing that I could just run around anywhere I wanted and there was nothing around to stop me from going anywhere. It kind of felt like ... being in a video game, I guess." She chuckled. "But after that, it was really stale. Not having any interaction with anyone or anything was boring. I had this amazing power to stop time and I was disappointed with it. That's why it feels a million times better to be able to share it with someone else."  
  
"I can understand that," she said as she touched my arm. "Why have a one-player game when you can have a two-player game?"  
  
"That's true," I replied, grinning. Then my grin faded as I thought about how I'd come clean about my power to so many different people. "You know, I feel like ... you're the last one I can share this secret with." She looked at me inquisitively. "I've told – and showed – some people before you. ... After this, I don't feel like there's anyone else to tell."  
  
"Will you keep usin' your power to share with your friends or ... will you give it up?"  
  
"Give it up?" I asked, taken aback by the very idea. "Wow, ... I never even considered that. ... Like I said, it's just not as great when there's nobody to share it with. ... Maybe I will do that. Maybe I'll just ... I dunno, keep it on a 'shelf' or something until I need to really use it."  
  
"But you wouldn't abuse it, right? I mean, you haven't used it to ... do anythin' bad?"  
  
I couldn't help but chuckle and smirk. I felt like she knew me so well.  
  
"I haven't," I replied with a reassuring nod. "Sure, I pulled an innocent prank on my teacher with it the day I'd gotten in, but, ..." I trailed off, furring my eyebrow. I found myself deep in thought for a brief moment. She stared at me, eagerly awaiting what I had to say next. "You know, there was a moment when I thought to myself about how much trouble I could've caused. I could've just ... stopped time for one car in the middle of the street and caused all the cars behind it to crash. I could've stopped the weather completely. I could've halted the tides – heck, I probably could've stopped the moon from orbiting around earth." Then, I sighed heavily and shook my head. "But I don't want to do that. What's the point of causing harm to people with my power? Really, all I've wanted this whole time was to lay low about it as much as possible and just be careful with who I let know about it."  
  
"Wow," she softly spoke. "I'm so proud of how responsible and ... reserved you are. I dunno that I wouldn't've just _freaked out_ and told **everyone** at some point."  
  
"It crossed my mind once or twice," I said with a laugh. She smiled at me.  
  
"Well, I'm happy you decided reason over craziness. It's just another reason for me to be happy to call you my friend."  
  
"Thanks," I replied, feeling so very fulfilled by her words. Maybe it was just the kind of closure I needed on using my time-stopping power.  
  
  
Her eyes then lit up as terror came across her face. "Oh, shoot! What about Jordan? We left her there this whole time."  
  
I laughed, waving my hand to calm her down. "It's been a while for us, but for her it's still only been those few minutes since we left her and came out here."  
  
"Oh, that's right," she said with a relieved sigh. "Ya' know, with how calm you've been about all this, I completely forgot time's been stopped."  
  
"Ready to go back?" I asked with a grin. She nodded and smiled.  
  
"Whenever you are."  
  
I gave her a nod back and then casually blinked to restore time. I turned my head to the staff member who continued on his stride, having not noticed a thing. Sarah and I chuckled to each other knowingly and went back into the building together.  
  
"By the way," she said as we walked back through the halls, "you don't have to worry about me tellin' Jordan. I mean, yeah, we tell each other **everything** , but ... some things are better off kept personal."  
  
"Thank you, Sarah," I said with gratitude in my voice. She chuckled.  
  
"Anytime."  
  
Then, we headed out into the courtyard, bustling with students chatting and walking every which way. We approached the picnic bench Jordan was waiting for us at. She spotted us while sipping from her soda can with a straw. There were two plates with pizza slices waiting for us on the table. I was pretty hungry after all of that, so it was a very welcome sight.  
  
"Sorry we took so long," Sarah said as we sat across from her.  
  
"That was pretty quick, actually," she remarked in surprise. "Guess you guys just wanted to say your peace and get it over with, huh?"  
  
"Something like that," I replied, prompting Sarah to quietly laugh. Jordan was a bit confused, but shrugged it off.  
  
"So," Jordan said, suggestively, "I can probably **guess** what it was you guys talked abo~ut."  
  
"Of course you do, big mouth," I replied with a smirk, causing the two girls to giggle. "But it's fine – I'm not mad. I'm just happier to finally get everything off my chest."  
  
"Same here," Sarah added.  
  
"Well, that's good! I think the two of you make really great friends."  
  
"Yeah, I agree," Sarah said, smiling to me while I had a whole mouthful of pizza. I looked at her and nodded.  
  
"Uh-huh," I replied with my mouth full, both of them laughing again.  
  
After we ate, the three of us hung around to chat about anything. I could never have imagined that a lunch break would've felt so fulfilling. It was good for me. I felt ... accomplished. But - as it always went - before long, it was time to go back to class.  
  
  
I spent the rest of the day reflecting on how much better I'd felt as a whole; as a person. Things were going better for me now than they ever had my entire life – and I say that knowing I'd been to Disney World. Nothing beats going to Disney World. But as the bell rang to finish up school for the day, I was about to learn a bit more about the negative aspects to associating myself with so many new girls. As I roamed through the hallways on my trek to leave school, a boy with short brown hair rushed up to me from behind.  
  
Sure enough, I had attracted the freaks.  
  
"Hey, man," he said as I turned to him.  
  
"Hey! Johnathan!" I greeted him as we kept walking.  
  
I was so surprised, as well as uneasy, to see him again. We hadn't really seen each other since we were kids. Back then, the guy was a pretty strange dude as far I knew from hanging out with him. He was into some **really** strange things – sexual things, and liked talking freely about it a lot. This was well before he'd hit puberty, too. It got to the point where I started to distance myself from him enough until he just disappeared for a while. Upon seeing his face again, all those weird memories came flooding back. I would never be able to forget all that stuff.  
  
"Been a while, huh?" he asked, a strange excitement in his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, what's it been—like, four years? Five?"  
  
"Something like that, yeah."  
  
The way he looked at me was ... eager. He definitely wanted something from me, like I was about to spot him a hundred bucks. Something in my mind was telling me it was time to go.  
  
"Well, I'll catch you later, okay?" I said, attempting to walk away, only for him to grab my shoulder.  
  
"Er, wait, hold on Anthony," he said as he brought me to a stop. "I heard ... ya' know, some stuff about you." I looked at him suspiciously. "Good stuff! Good stuff, I swear. Like, _really_ good stuff, you know what I mean?"  
  
"I ... **don't** know what you mean," I replied, shaking my head in confusion. "Look, I really should get going–"  
  
"Wait-wait-wait-wait," he quickly said as he stopped me again. "Okay, okay. I'll cut to the chase. I want you to, you know, hook me up, dude."  
  
I was baffled. "Hook you up?" I asked.  
  
"You know, put in a good word for me so I can get a little action with some of the pretty faces you roll with; a little nookie—just like you got. Come on, you know what I'm sayin', right?"  
  
  
I had no idea where he got that information, but I wasn't admitting to anything. I _certainly_ wasn't running a dating service, either.  
  
"Sorry. Can't help you," I replied with a shrug.  
  
"Oh come o~n, man. I know you can spare one of your ho's for me. Come on, for old times' sake."  
  
I didn't even respond to that. I just looked at him with an annoyed expression. The fact that he even referred to any of the girls I knew as 'ho's' was not something I appreciated.  
  
"Okay, okay. How about I ... pay you? How's fifty bucks a girl sound?"  
  
I couldn't help but boisterously laugh at the notion of him paying me for sex.  
  
"So what, I'm a pimp now?" I asked with an amused grin.  
  
"Yeah, you a pimp!" he exclaimed with a laugh. "You made it, man. You're at the top of the mountain! So come on, just hook me up. I'm seriously desperate."  
  
"I can tell," I replied, shaking my head in disbelief. "Look, I don't know what you heard but obviously you were misinformed. I don't have any ho's, or pretty faces—definitely none to 'spare.' I'm not at the top of any mountain, I'm just another dude in the masses trying to survive high school. Okay? Sorry to let you down."  
  
He looked like he was about to crumble to pieces before he quickly spoke up again.  
  
  
"But, ... I-I heard this girl with **gigantic** tits say that you were like this amazing 'sex god' or something. She was definitely talking about you!"  
  
I had the sneaking suspicion he overheard Natalie talking to someone. Why Natalie felt the need to talk about me or bring up our tryst – especially considering the whole 'time stopping' thing was involved – was beyond me. I just sighed. Best to go with the old 'deny everything' route and move on.  
  
"I don't even know any girls with 'gigantic tits,' man," I calmly said, much to his surprise. "Sorry, I have no idea what's going on, but, I really need to catch my bus. See ya."  
  
"Okay! Um, ... I'll see you later, man!"  
  
I shook my head and rolled my eyes as I quickly walked away from him. I **really** hoped I wouldn't see him later.  
  
I didn't think my escapades were going to bring trouble my way, or that I'd feel as annoyed as I did at that moment. If more people were going to act like Johnathan—try to suck up to me in the hopes I'd help them get laid—then I figured it was time to cool down for a while. The best idea was to probably let this 'buzz' about me blow over and let everyone forget about it. The longer people stop obsessing over me, the less they'll care about me. That's all I could hope for.  
  
  
That night, I was beginning to settle into bed. I'd already finished my homework and shut off my computer. I turned off the light and then slipped under the covers with a happy sigh. As I laid staring at the ceiling, I recalled Sarah's suggestion for me to simply ... stop using my time-stopping power. I had to admit, there really was never any practical use for it and I really didn't have any compulsion to abuse it for evil. But before I could do that, stop using it forever, I recalled for a moment one final loose end. It was the one that unnerved me, but it's been there in the back of my mind since it had occurred: The odd men in black robes. I furred my eyebrows, recalling the first glimpse of them down the hallway in school. After that, there was the more up close and personal meeting on the beach. I was never going to get any sleep until I knew...  
  
I paused for a moment before I slowly peeled away the covers from my body with a sigh. I quickly got to my feet in the darkness. I must've looked pretty stupid just standing there in the dark with nothing but my boxers on, but I didn't care. I took into consideration the fact that those guys never seemed to bother me until I was by myself – like they had to make it personal for some reason. But why? What did they want from me?  
  
I figured if there was any more a personal setting for them to appear again, this would definitely be it. I nodded to myself, blinking once to stop time and stood dauntless in the silence.  
  
"All right," I spoke up. "You know who I'm talking to. Let's have one more meeting, all right? Show yourselves – I know you know that I'm here."  
  
I waited patiently. A few tense moments passed by in the unnatural silence.  
  
"Come on," I spoke up again. "I'm not just going to be on **your** time. There has to be some give and take."  
  
And with that, I felt my head buzz just before they showed themselves. The air escaped my lungs as I watched them slowly emerge from the pitch blackness of my closet. My eyes widened and my heart began to race from the terrifying sight. My breathing quickened, but I tried my best not to show my fear to the three tall figures that showed themselves to me one by one. I swallowed, feeling sweat begin to break out on my forehead. They stood calmly, stoically, near the far end of the room. I took a deep breath and sighed.  
  
I remained as calm as I could as I spoke to them. My head kept buzzing, as though I was in great danger. But I wasn't going to end this conversation until they gave me the answers I wanted.  
  
  
"I'm not going to take my eyes off you this time – I don't want any disappearing acts like before."  
  
The one in the center raised its bony hand and pointed to me.  
  
" _Time ..._ ," it whispered in its raspy, ethereal voice. I straightened my posture, smiling confidently.  
  
"Yes, I know **that** one. You already said that before. **Now** you're going to tell me something that actually makes sense."  
  
" _What do you wish to know ...?_ " it asked, surprising me. Its voice seemed to change a bit, not speaking as otherworldly and perhaps, a bit quicker.  
  
"Oka~y ... so you **do** know more than one word ...," I replied in intrigue. "I'll skip the formalities this time. What I really want to know is ... what brought you to me? Are you ... are you the ones that gave me these powers?"  
  
Amidst the darkness, I saw all three of them slowly shake their robed heads back and forth.  
  
" _You did this. This is_ _ **your**_ _power ..._ "  
  
I was stunned. How could that be possible? I didn't just wake up one morning and bless myself with superpowers with a flick of my magic wand. However, they weren't quite done yet.  
  
" _Now, ... you will turn it off ..._ "  
  
"Turn it off?" I wondered aloud. "You want me to turn off ... the time-stopping?"  
  
Its voice suddenly became much louder and menacing.  
  
" _ **Turn it off.**_ "  
  
That's when the three of them began to advance on me, their arms stretched out as if to grab me. The buzzing sensation in my head was practically vibrating my entire skull.  
  
" _ **Turn it off! Turn it off!!**_ "  
  
I screamed in terror, covering my face, shutting my eyes tight.  
  
  
After a brief moment of silence, my ears caught the gentle sounds of crickets chirping and the quiet honk of a car in the distance. I shot my eyes open – everything was back to normal. Well, everything except for the fact that I was trembling harder than I ever had in my life. My eyes were wide, terror gripping my entire body like an icy hand that refused to let up. I couldn't move – totally paralyzed by fear. I panted sharply with terrified gasps, a cold sweat rolling over every inch of me.  
  
I just stood there – shocked, horrified, incredulous – for several minutes. I was still too scared to move, fearful that they would return if I moved so much as an inch. Were they still there? Were they invisible? Were they waiting to grab me and tear me limb from limb? I had no idea what to think anymore. If there was ever a **really** noticeable downside I could've ever thought of upon acquiring the power to stop time ... this was definitely it. Honestly, I would take getting pestered by other guys to help them get laid over this any day.  
  
Finally, my legs gave out from under me and I fell to my hands and knees. I continued trembling. My eyes stayed wide open. I didn't want to blink – I couldn't. If I blinked ... I might stop time and they might return. I cared not for the tensing pain around my eyes as they dried. I'd sooner lose my vision than feel the wrath of those ... _things_ screaming at me.  
  
It took me a little while, but I eventually managed to pull myself back into bed. I pressed myself firmly against the wall. It gave me one less angle to have to watch for them. I couldn't take the pain in my dry eyes anymore and squeezed them shut with a terrified shout. When I quickly opened them again, there were no robed things in black to be found. Time was still flowing nicely. I think, at that moment, my mind was far too frightened to stop time and so it wouldn't allow me to. I slowly laid my head down on the pillow, keeping watch over the room. My eyes were as alert and focused as they'd ever been.  
  
I swallowed a few times. My mouth felt as dry as cotton. I couldn't find the willingness in myself to get up and go to the kitchen for water, that would've brought me past the closet. I wasn't going anywhere **near** that area. I kept myself under the covers, trembling and as frightened as any kid could be when faced against the bogeyman or things under the bed. _These_ monsters, however, were as real as it gets...


	18. Answers

Somehow during the night, I'd managed to fall asleep. Surprisingly enough, I didn't have any nightmares about the freaky guys in black. Instead, I was treated to a more peaceful dream. I dreamt I was just sprawled out in an ocean of colors without a care in the world. Maybe it was an embodiment of what my life had become: like a dream. Maybe it was just my mind trying to keep calm after a terrifying experience. But it was more than likely just a coincidental succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occurred involuntarily in my mind during certain stages of sleep. I awoke as I usually had, without my alarm clock, yet perfectly on time to get ready for school.  
  
The rest of the week was so calm by comparison to everything else that happened ever since I'd acquired my powers. I was just happy to get to see all of my friends, the girls that I'd gotten so very close and personal with, and to steadily build up my grades. All my teachers seemed to take notice, but I was still busy taking notice of the girls. Old habits die hard, I guess. But, I didn't make any sort of moves. I found myself more than content to just ... _admire_ and enjoy.  
  
Jennifer and I were able to maintain our steady love-hate relationship. Talia was still as clingy and as adorable as ever. Eve and Lila still considered me part of their group and I continued to have lunch every other day with them. Eve herself made it a habit to greet me with one of those great little hugs and a kiss every morning before school. Natalie was still as bold as ever. She and I didn't get to talk much, after all she was too busy being an up-and-coming model. I **did** get to speak with her about the conversation Johnathan overheard. She was actually very apologetic and realized it was a bad move by her. She promised not to bring it up anymore, and that was good enough for me. Ms. Adanna kept our tryst a secret, although she greatly enjoyed my tutelage under her and would give me a gentle stroke of the arm or squeeze of the hand from time to time.  
  
Walking home with Sofia was **always** the highlight to the end of the school day. She was so talkative, so warm, so comforting to be around. Elizabeta – oh, jeez, where do I even start with her? She took her physicality toward me to another level; shoving, punching, even kicking me just for the hell of it. I knew she enjoyed my company greatly, even if it didn't look like it. Tamara continued to be that amazingly sweet girl that sat behind me in Algebra. She really loved wearing that pink shirt, and did so as often as she could to show she was 'Team Anthony.' Back home, Samantha and I did a whole bunch of catching up and swimming together at the pool. It was great to have my childhood best friend back in my life. As for Sarah? She was still my very good friend, along with Jordan. She remained someone I could talk to about anything and know that secrets would be kept safe with her.  
  
As for the rest of my friends, they were still the lovable, ragtag group of misfits they already were. Frank, Josh and Brandon – my three buds that remained consistent and so much fun to be around. Frank was also really great about keeping the secret of my power a secret. Nora was never bothered by Jason ever again. I was happy to hear that, and so was she. The sweet hug she would give me every time we ran into each other was proof enough of that for me.  
  
Yeah, this was the new normal for me: my normal, supernatural life. It was refreshing, to say the least. Little did I know, however, that 'normal' was about to get a whole lot stranger...  
  
  
The following weekend, I'd gotten up nice and late like I loved to do on the weekend. I groggily headed into the kitchen to make myself a sandwich for lunch. I held a cucumber down, idly chopping a few slices out of it. At the same time, I closed my eyes and yawned, thinking nothing of the repetitive motion. That's when a searing pain literally cut through my finger.  
  
I looked down, there was blood all over the cutting board already and I swear I could see through to the bone. I panicked and brought my hand over to the sink, bleeding profusely along the way. But that's when I suddenly remembered I could heal myself with relative ease. I just had ignore the splitting pain, focus, and think about my finger _not_ being sliced open. As I thought clearly of my finger being back to normal, my powers had made it so. I sighed heavily as I looked my healed finger over and shook my hand a few times just to be sure it wasn't going to fall off.  
  
After I cleaned up the blood, I gazed at the knife again. I thought about my ability to heal rapidly and so, I decided to put myself through another experiment. Now I wasn't one to self-harm, but I also possessed ridiculous superpowers – I just had to test them out. Over the sink, I held the knife up to my hand, the pointed end pressed against my palm. I swallowed and breathed slowly, trying to build up the courage to go through with this. Then, I grit my teeth and shoved the knife all the way through my hand. I exhaled with a groan of agony. The sight of the knife right through my hand was terrifying and gruesome.  
  
I shouted in pain as I pulled the knife back out and then closed my eyes, quickly making use of my power to heal. At first, I couldn't get it rolling because I was too worried I somehow wasn't going to be able to do it this time. But once I relaxed and ignored the pain for the moment, suddenly it went away. I opened my eyes — my hand was fine. I sighed in relief, quickly washing the blood off the knife under the sink.  
  
However, I still had **one more** idea in mind. It was crazy, more impossible than anything. But considering how many impossible feats I'd already accomplished, I knew I had a shot.  
  
I held the knife up to my hand once again. This time, though, I reared the knife back a few inches. I got a general sense of where to aim and then closed my eyes. I exhaled slowly, focusing myself on my increasing power to defy all logic. All this time the only thing I ever had to do was _believe_ in my ability to do something and it would be done. This shouldn't be any different.  
  
Then, I brought the knife forward, full force. There was no pain. I felt no blood going down my hand. When I opened my eyes, my mouth slowly spread into a huge grin — the knife didn't harm me at all. It was exactly what I was hoping for. I laughed as I tried to stab myself over and over, but my skin was completely impenetrable. Anyone who would've seen me at that point, laughing, trying to stab myself, would've thought I was completely insane. I was just overjoyed. Time and time again, my ability to do seemingly anything astounded me.  
  
  
All throughout eating my lunch, I couldn't stop thinking about my awesome powers. It didn't take very long before I started getting even more ideas. I had told Sarah that abusing my powers didn't interest me. But ... what if I used them to, say, **help** people instead? I started to think of myself as that 'superhero' again, grinning in excitement. How cool would it be if I ... I dunno, could turn invisible? Yes! That would be so amazing! My mind began to flood with all kinds of possibilities of helping people while invisible. Imagine, sneaking into a house full of bad guys while they're planning a bank heist or something. I could alert the police and tell them everything and those guys would have no idea how they found out.  
  
I reached down to pick up some potato chips off my plate. That's when I noticed they were floating into my mouth. I gasped, dropping the chip back onto the dish and jumping up from my seat. I couldn't see my arms! Or my legs! It **couldn't** be! ... Could it?  
  
I quickly ran to the nearest mirror and found that I had no reflection. Oh, my god! I was invisible! I was shaking at that point as I looked over my nonexistant body – just when I had started looking good for the ladies, too! I was full of excitement and happiness and nervousness. What do I do now? Where do I go? Where do I start? Do I run out and beat up bad guys now or do I wait? Oh man, I was so excited I felt like I was flying.  
  
I went to go run around the house like a mad man when something bumped my back really hard.  
  
It was the ceiling.  
  
I stood there, sort of, for a moment in confusion. What the hell just happened? Did the earth flip upside down? Did I flip the earth upside down and cause everyone to suddenly start falling into the sky? Once I realized how that made no sense at all, it came to my attention ... that I was suspending gravity. In a nutshell, I was **flying**. Flying!! And I wasn't even on drugs!  
  
  
I waved my arms around like I was swimming, managing to slowly maneuver myself awkwardly through the air. Then I found out that my arms weren't controlling the flying - my brain was. So, I started to calmly float around. I was getting the hang of it, little by little. A huge grin spread across my invisible face more and more.  
  
"Whoo!" I exclaimed as I began to fly in a large circle through the living room and back into the kitchen. I smirked confidently, suddenly darting out through the open sliding glass door and out into the world. I was breathing so quickly and so heavily. Seeing a handful of people casually strolling by a few stories under my feet was amazing. I could not **believe** this. This was like every amazing dream I ever had of flying, where me flying around was completely normal and nobody in my dream thought twice about it.  
  
The cool breeze whipping around me was so pleasant. I felt like I was one with the wind, my entire body the weight of no less than a feather. I couldn't stop grinning. Again, this was amazing! I spun my body in different directions to get a feel of my new, airborne surroundings. Just seeing my balcony – where I should've been – several meters away from me was surreal. The view was incredible, and I was only barely off the ground!  
  
When I finally had a brief moment to relax and let my body hang loose, I wondered how I even managed to _do_ this. All I did was get the sense that I was flying because of how excited I was. That's when the realization hit me.  
  
That was it, wasn't it? **That** was the secret to my powers! It took me all this time to figure it out. It was so simple, so efficient, so ... not like a radioactive mutant at all.  
  
I just had to _imagine_ it.  
  
I'd even realized it before, without really realizing it at all when I told Samantha...  
  
' _I pretty much just think about what I want and don't want to freeze in my mind and it happens._ '  
  
I understood now. Finally ... I had the key. With that thought, I accidentally materialized a real key in my invisible hand before panicking and making it fade away. Pride swelled up my invisible chest and caused me to do a couple backflips in the air. I withheld the urge to laugh as loudly as I could as I didn't want to confuse anyone nearby.  
  
This ... was ... **awesome!**  
  
  
I couldn't **wait** to test drive this new power. First though, I waved my hand in front of my face to make sure I was still invisible. I don't think there could've been anything worse than having to explain how I'm floating in the air to passerby's. I took a deep breath, and with some intense thinking I was able to propel myself upward. However, I went a little **too** fast. The air screamed by my ears, my face pressing against my skull from the intense force.  
  
When I managed to correct myself and come to an instant stop a couple seconds later, I was already well above the roof of my building.  
  
"Whoa," I wearily uttered, feeling as though I was about to throw up. That was far more wild than any carnival ride. Seemed like I thought a little _too_ hard there.  
  
After I managed to settle my stomach, I felt myself shift uncomfortably a bit upon looking at my surroundings. I was really high up in the air. Typically, I wasn't very receptive to heights. But, if I was going to actually make use of this power, I was going to have to get over it. The wind whipped much harder up there than down below. My palms and feet felt cold and sweaty, looking around the bustling city from high above everyone. The people were so tiny, cars hardly noticeable. It gave me a great sense of just how vast the nearby ocean was without anything to obstruct it. It was beautiful.  
  
I felt compelled to fly towards the water. I eased up a little on my 'flight pedal' and kept myself at a moderate pace. I couldn't help but look down, watching the trees, the street and the buildings all slowly roll by beneath me. I descended a bit, keeping myself around about a hundred feet or so over the sandy beach. I smiled, watching the people down there enjoying the sun and the clear sky. I chuckled to myself. Little did the sunbathers know they were bathing underneath me. Luckily, I wasn't casting a shadow with my invisibility.  
  
  
I descended further, enough to keep well above people's heads while still being close enough to hear the chatter of hundreds of voices. I idly drifted by, wondering to myself how these people would react if they just looked up and saw me sailing like a kite overhead.  
  
I heard a woman talking to a friend as they reclined on their towels. "I told him, 'I don't want to hear it. We're through.'"  
  
I grinned, feeling a little mischievous eavesdropping on people.  
  
"But da~d," a little girl whined, "I wanna go in the water!"  
  
"Not until I put your sunscreen on," her father replied.  
  
I kept on going, slowly passing over a small group of elderly people as they headed along the sand toward the water.  
  
"I got fed up with that shit!" one of the old men said. "I'm not going to pay for extra rent in that dump!"  
  
Then, I came across a young couple starting to get a little frisky with each other. I was surprised enough by the sight to come to a complete stop. They were **really** starting to get into it. The young woman rolled atop her man, the two of them quietly laughing, kissing and looking around. My eyes widened when she suddenly took her top off, keeping her chest firmly pressed into his. I was obviously tempted to just sit there– er, float there and watch. Still, I didn't want the two to cause an awkward scene and get busted for having fun with each other. After all, they were fairly close to other people and families. _Someone_ had to think of the children!  
  
I hummed thoughtfully for a moment as I thought my options over. Once I came up with an idea, I grinned in amusement. Why not help them avoid a citation for indecent exposure **and** have some fun with my new invisibility power?  
  
  
I came to a soft, silent landing in the sand next to them. They were still going at it while I looked at them. His hands were pretty firmly established on her butt. So, I took my own hand and gently raked it across her back. She shrieked in terror and quickly rolled onto her side.  
  
"Something just touched my back!" she exclaimed. He looked around in confusion, seeing nothing there. I couldn't help but be a smart-ass and wave to him as he looked in my direction.  
  
"Babe, it was probably just a seagull," her boyfriend replied with a really thick surfer drawl. He then pulled her in closer to him. "Come on, there's nobody around."  
  
The two went right back to making out. My initial idea didn't work perfectly, but I was very persistent. I carefully knelt down and then put a hand on her shoulder. I pulled away and took to the air just as she reacted.  
  
"Ahh!" she screamed and swatter at her shoulder. "Kevin, a hand seriously just grabbed my shoulder!" He looked at her in confusion while she quickly grabbed her top and tied it back on. "This is freaking me out. Let's just go back to your place, okay?"  
  
He sighed in frustration. "All right, **fine**." I could only imagine he figured she was looking for excuses to back out.  
  
  
I was _so_ tempted to follow them back and watch them go all the way, but I couldn't bring myself to do that. Besides, I was far more interested in my new powers. So, I kept on hovering overhead along the beach for a short time just to soak everything up like I was some kind of low-flying helicopter.  
  
A few moments later, I came across a little girl, no older than a toddler, playing with a beach ball that was bigger than her. It was adorable enough to make me smile watching her tote it around like a giant teddy bear. But the smile quickly faded when the ball fell from her hands and was carried by the wind down to the ocean. I then watched the little girl quickly chase after it and I panicked. I quickly flew over to the ball, which was drifting further and further into the water. Her little feet touched the water on the shore and kept on going. What the hell were her parents doing?!  
  
I grabbed the ball and pushed it as quickly as I could back to her before the water was high enough to consume her. Right as she grabbed the ball, I heard a few people cry out that a baby was in the water by herself. That prompted her parents to finally respond and quickly rush down to scoop her up. Her mother held the ball in one arm, her confused child in the other.  
  
"Is she okay?" someone asked. I could only breathe a sigh of relief and ascend a bit higher into the air. I don't think anybody wanted to see **that** on the evening news. Although I couldn't see it, I felt my hands trembling for sure. I surprised myself at how much I cared. I'd actually gotten really scared for that little girl's well-being.  
  
I let out one more big sigh of relief and smiled as I saw her parents starting to keep a closer eye on her. What do you know? A happy ending. That sense of fulfillment made me feel like a superhero right at that moment for sure. But then I decided to stop patting myself on the back and took off from the beach. I headed for home, feeling a little exhausted after using my new powers for a while. I had to give myself time to get used to it. For the moment, I just wanted to slip into bed and have a nice nap.  
  
  
The next day, I was out flying again around the same time as yesterday. I was enjoying aimlessly wandering over the city for a little while. The simplistic eagle eye view I had was endlessly entertaining for me. Though I was scared of heights, I still admired the spectacle of being up high. The sense of freedom was beyond anything I could ever imagine. I could go anywhere, do anything. Climb the highest skyscraper? Walk the tight rope across the wall of a bridge? Fly alongside a seagull? I could do it all – and so much more. The possibilities of anything and everything I was capable of doing were just limitless.  
  
I headed to the outskirts of the city, looking out at the long rows of hotels and motels on the beach side and the small apartment complexes on the other side. As I flew near the bridge leading in and out of the city, I spotted something very colorful underneath it. I was curious enough to go and have a look.  
  
Upon closer inspection it was a very brightly-painted van parked in the shade under the bridge. And by 'brightly,' I mean decorated with huge, multicolored flowers and peace signs. It was a hippie van! I touched down a few meters away from it, realizing it was on and had music playing. Hits of the oldies, no less. I looked around carefully to make sure no one was around before making myself visible once again. I then inspected my body, patting myself, making sure I was all there before giving a nod of approval.  
  
I walked up to the van, curiously looking inside. There was a young woman with long, brunette hair laying down in the back seat. She was nodding her head to the song, quietly singing along with it. I smirked, knocking on the window, which caused her to jump up in surprise.  
  
"Oh, hi!" she exclaimed in a rather friendly tone. She quickly reached for the door to exit the vehicle. "You wouldn't happen to have a spare can of gas, would you? Maybe a siphon?"  
  
"Sorry, I walked here," I explained while she closed the door behind her. "I didn't think I really needed gas on hand for that."  
  
She chuckled. "I like you," she responded before extending a friendly hand. "My name's Ophelia."  
  
I shook her hand and then wondered aloud, "Ophelia? I've never met anyone with that name before."  
  
"I know, I get that a lot. My parents were huge into the whole 'peace and love' movement. They wanted something 'beautiful' and 'unique' when they named me. Although most of my friends ended up calling me 'Opie.'"  
  
"Sounds rough," I replied. "I'm Anthony. Nice to meet you."  
  
"Yeah, it totally is!" she exclaimed with a grin.  
  
  
Well, she seemed like an extremely sunny spirit. I was curious, though, about why she would have a 60's-style van like that. She didn't look much older than a college girl.  
  
I decided to ask. "So, what made you want to carry on the 'peace and love' thing with this van?"  
  
"Parents got me into it. It's all I grew up on at home and so, I started to enjoy it. Gotta love those old seventies songs, right?"  
  
"Yeah, there are actually some good ones." She grinned and nodded. "But, why are you parked under here?"  
  
"I know it sounds weird, but I liked the view here and how quiet it was. So, I wanted to hang out by the water for a little bit. Then I'm getting ready to leave and only then do I realize I'm out of gas. It's no sweat, I'm sure someone will come along soon. I'm just making the most of it enjoying how peaceful it is here."  
  
I was surprised at the idea. Yes, it was weird, but it actually sounded like something I would do. Just enjoying random points of scenery – no matter how off-beat or out of the way it may be – was something I enjoyed from time to time.  
  
"You know, I never did actually notice how nice it is under here," I replied as I took a good look around.  
  
"You should totally think outside the box, more," she said with a hippie stoner vibe. "Spread your wings and be free like an eagle, man." The two of us shared a laugh.  
  
"Well, hey, I don't want you to be stranded under here with no food or water or anything. I can go and get you some gas."  
  
She seemed astounded. "You'd do that for a stranger? That's so nice of you!"  
  
"I just want to help out, that's all. If it helps you get back home, then that's all I need."  
  
As much as I also wanted to add 'it's the superhero way, ma'am,' I somehow managed to keep it inside.  
  
"That's so, **so** sweet of you. Thank you **so** much, really."  
  
"No problem," I said as I began to walk away. "I'll be right back!"  
  
"I'm not going anywhere!" she called out. I smiled and shook my head.  
  
  
Once I was out of sight behind the bridge's concrete base, I stopped and thought for a moment. I made the handle of a red plastic, portable gas can appear in my hand. I took hold of it and held it up to my head, rolling it around. Felt like there was a really good amount of gasoline in there. My options at that point were to either wait around for a while and come back, making it seem like I'd traveled a good distance. Or....  
  
"Hey, check it out!" I exclaimed from afar as I began walking back.  
  
"What is it?" she asked.  
  
"I found this can of gas just sitting along the sidewalk. Looks like someone left it there."  
  
She looked at me in disbelief. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "Are you sure it has gas in it? Could be anything in there."  
  
"Well, let's see," I said as I neared her. I popped open the cap to let her take a whiff. She immediately pulled her head back.  
  
"Yep! That's definitely gasoline!" she said, coughing a bit. "But who the heck just leaves a tank of gas on the road like that?"  
  
I shrugged. "Maybe someone who wanted to be kind to a person who runs out of gas nearby?"  
  
"Well, that is _extremely_ fortunate and very thoughtful of them - if that's the case."  
  
She turned around to open the van's gas flap and unscrew the top. I slowly poured the entire contents of the can into the van's gas tank. Then, I closed everything up and she was good to go. I turned to see her smiling thankfully at me.  
  
  
"I think you've got plenty here to get you to the nearest gas station," I said as I clamped the gas can nozzle shut.  
  
"Sure am," she happily replied. "I don't really have anything to repay you with. I'd sure like to pay you back somehow."  
  
"It's fine. Like I said, I just wanted to help to get you back home."  
  
"Well," she said as she casually slithered her arms around the back of my neck, "you won't mind if I insist on repaying you, will you?"  
  
"Oh," I replied in amazement before she planted a brief kiss on my lips and grinned. "... Wow."  
  
She giggled. "You **are** pretty cute, you know. And **very** helpful."  
  
To my surprise, she began leading me back toward her van with a mischievous look in her eyes. I was very intrigued as to where this was headed.  
  
"You're really serious about this, aren't you?"  
  
She blindly opened the back door of the van where she'd been lounging earlier.  
  
"Super serious," she replied with a big smirk as she tumbled back into the van. She laughed as she pulled me in with her, causing me to drop the gas can on the ground. I couldn't say I didn't appreciate this kind of reward for being an upstanding citizen.  
  
  
We eagerly moaned as our lips pressed and danced deeply within one another. Her lips parted away from mine, giggling again as she looked at me.  
  
"You're a great kisser," she said, causing me to smile before she hungrily went back in for another kiss.  
  
Considering how serious she seemed, I decided to give us some privacy. In the quiet of the van, I casually froze time around us while leaving the automobile intact. Her music on tape continued to play while we played with no interruptions.  
  
She went right for the kill, rubbing my crotch in her palm. I responded by kissing downward, to her chin, and into her neck. She moaned happily, throwing her head back in excitement. As I continued to kiss around her neck, she suddenly became very quiet and very still. Her skin oddly felt like it was made of hard porcelain. My kisses came to a slow, confused halt.  
  
I pulled away and looked at her. She was completely immobile. Somehow, **she'd** been frozen in time as well. That didn't make any sense....  
  
"... What?" I uttered in confusion. I hadn't froze time for her. Was it some sort of malfunction? Did I mess up somehow?  
  
Then, ... my head buzzed.  
  
Oh, no.  
  
  
I quickly turned around. There they were – tall, bony and clad in black. The three of them were standing a short distance away from the van. In a panic, I quickly dashed out from the backseat and stood before them. I clenched my fists, staring them down with a serious expression. It had become a standoff. My _new_ new powers had bolstered my confidence to a point I needed to deal with these guys. They weren't going to jump at me and scare me off. This time, I was ready to fight back.  
  
"Back again so soon?" I joked before my tone became more serious. "What did you do to her?"  
  
" _It's time..._ " I was told yet again. I was getting tired of hearing that.  
  
"Time for _what?_ " I dared ask.  
  
That's when the center one rushed at me in the blink of an eye. It moved so fast that it completely caught me off guard. Next thing I knew, its sharp, bony fingers were buried into my stomach. I stared at its indiscernible face in disbelief. They weren't screwing around. The excruciating pain of my abdomen being torn open was proof enough of that.  
  
It whipped its hand out of me, blood pouring out. My body shook uncontrollably in fear for my life. I'd never been so grievously injured before. I couldn't think straight, but I absolutely **had** to if I was going to live. I immediately clasped my arms over my abdomen, gritting my teeth as I stared at them with rage in my trembling eyes. I was able to get a handle on my thoughts before I could go into shock. My wound rapidly healed itself within seconds – organs and all. As I looked down at my torso, I impressed myself to see I'd even fixed my torn shirt and removed the blood from it as well.  
  
I looked up at them again. I immediately remembered the last time I took my eyes off them, they'd vanished. This time, however, they were staying. So was I. I was pissed. These guys have toyed with me, screwed with my head and kept me up at night guessing as to who or what they were and what their motives are. No more. It's going to end now.  
  
  
" _Hmm, ..._ _you are as resilient as we predicted. Our apologies for being so brutish._ " The voice that they spoke with changed considerably from the last time. It was no longer just one of them speaking. Now, all three of them were speaking in unison, three different tones and pitches in their voices.  
  
"Apology?!" I shouted. "You just tried to kill me!"  
  
" _A necessary strife in the grand scheme of things. Your life is meaningless to us._ "  
  
I narrowed my eyes at them. "Funny, I feel the same way about you."  
  
" _You wanted to know about us, now ... we will explain everything to you._ "  
  
I scoffed. "Whoopee. It's about time."  
  
" _We have existed since the beginning – the beginning of time. Everything that was created and had a history was on our watch. We see everything, we know everything. Our knowledge surpasses far more than you could ever know. In simpler terms, we are the keepers of time._ "  
  
I was intrigued, processing what they said for a brief moment.  
  
"So ..., you really **are** time gods."  
  
" _If that is what you wish to see us as. For an infinite number of years, we have cared for and maintained the delicate fabric of time. We maintain every thread within its spool and we must act accordingly should we ever find ... knots._ "  
  
"I suppose I'm a 'knot,' then."  
  
" _Correct. Many beings have attempted to elude time or to defy it. None have ever succeeded ... until you came to be. But you must understand that every time your power has been used, you have caused undue ripples in the fabric of time. Those ripples have recently begun to form tears. If you were to continue on, all of time itself would be completely disintegrated with your power._ "  
  
Sarah really did have a good idea when she asked if I would give it up. I'd have to thank her the next time I saw her.  
  
"Then I'll just stop using it," I replied.  
  
" _A wise choice. But you see, we cannot go simply upon your words alone._ " I watched as the center one held its palm upward, creating a strange orb of light over its hand. I gazed curiously upon it. Within it, I was able to see moments of my life over the past month. " _We have watched you since the birth of your powers; studying you. We've watched you use it for your own_ _ **amusement**_ _and your own_ _ **pleasure.**_ _It is truly disrespectful for you to abuse an embodiment that governs all life - one that has existed long before you have lived, and long after you die._ " The orb dissipated, his hand calmly lowered to his side." _We can see everything – past, present, future. We knew that you were arriving to use your power. We knew that you would evade us the last time we met by simply spinning the wheels of time once more — after all, we foresaw it._ "  
  
  
Then, they spread their arms out at their sides.  
  
" _Now, for the final image we have foreseen of you – your death._ " My eyes understandably widened in confusion and shock. " _You are going to perish here, in this place ... now._ "  
  
"... What?" I uttered in disbelief.  
  
" _Your ability to manipulate time has gone on for long enough. We will no longer allow an ignorant mortal child such as yourself to continue to molest time in the way that you have. We will end you by our own hands. We will be obliterate your very being and you will disappear — forever._ "  
  
I recalled my last run-in with them and how I was simply able to blink time back on to make them go away. I could easily just do that ... and simply never use my power again to avoid all future interaction with them.  
  
I smirked confidently at them. "Well then, I'll just end this little conversation like I did last time. So much for your predictions."  
  
I blinked to resume time — only time wasn't starting again. The three of them were still very much in front of me.  
  
"What happened?" I remarked, completely confused.  
  
" _Foolish,_ " they calmly replied. " _We knew you would try this. We merely vetoed your power to stop and resume time as you please._ _ **We**_ _are the ones that control time – not you._ " I stared at them, unsure of what to do next. If they could simply cancel out my power with their own, what **could** I even do to stop them? " _Now, allow us to end your life quickly so that we may return to undoing the damage that you have caused._ "  
  
No. I couldn't just let them win. Maybe they could stop my time-warping powers ... but so what? I had plenty more powers where that came from. I was **not** going to go down without a fight – certainly not to _these_ jerks.  
  
"Not a chance!" I exclaimed. "You may be gods that have existed since the dawn of time and I may just be some teenager with powers I don't fully understand. I don't know if I can beat you, but I've got some **pretty** powerful ideas!"  
  
" _You are delaying the inevitable,_ " they replied. " _We know everything you will do before you–_ "  
  
Suddenly, I created a massive explosion around the three of them. Smoke and ash erupted all around me, whipping my clothes around in the dead silence. I didn't even know I could do that, but like I said, I had ideas.  
  
Once the smoke cleared, I stood triumphantly.  
  
"Ha. Talking too much like a cartoon villain."  
  
Then, I sensed them behind me and immediately spun around.  
  
" _Foolish, again,_ " they said. " _Resistance is not an option for you. Retreat, you will find to prove impossible._ "  
  
"I'm not going anywhere," I replied with a confident smirk.  
  
  
My senses were in overdrive as the first one attempted its same attack as before. I managed to swiftly evade it, both of our actions as quick as the blink of an eye. I retaliated with a superpowered punch to his face, sending him flying into the distance.  
  
"Got ya!" I exclaimed just before the other two swooped in to continue the brawl. Now, I was evading two sets of lightning-quick slashes. I took to the air, wondering if I'd had an advantage there. The other two simply watched me ascend without following. That's when I sensed something behind me and quickly turned to the side to avoid another lethal strike from the first man in black. Well, looks like they're able to teleport. What's more, they most certainly could fly.  
  
Just then, it held its palm out to me. I reacted without thinking, lifting my leg away just as a strange, small portal opened up at my feet and then closed back up.  
  
"What the hell was that?" I asked in confusion.  
  
" _A dimensional rip_." The other two calmly floated up to return to the first's side. " _You are a worthy foe. Indeed, we have never had to use our power aggressively. Practical usage of our strength is as new to us as it is to you. However, be aware that you may be fast, but not fast enough. We will continue to create dimensional rips of any size we wish. Once caught in them, your body will be trapped, consumed, and then cease to exist._ "  
  
Needless to say, I didn't really like the sound of that idea.  
  
"Or you could just back off and let me get back to my normal life. I don't need to use my time-stopping power any longer."  
  
" _The risk is simply too great._ "  
  
"Then catch me if you can," I replied before making myself invisible. The three seemed to be caught off-guard, slowly turning their heads in various directions. I circled around them, sneaking up behind and quickly landing a punch on the backs of each of their heads. It sent all of them all flying a good distance away, where they crashed into a building with no damage caused to the time-frozen structure - only damaging their egos. They quickly rebounded, however. Their bodies ascended airborne in unison, quickly returning to where they last were.  
  
" _This game is only a temporary delay,_ " they said before I saw glowing pairs of yellow eyes beyond their hoods. As I began to cycle around behind them again, I watched them staring directly at me. When I stopped, they stopped.  
  
"Oh, damn," I said before evading a three-peat of dimensional rips near my legs and arm. I boldly went in for another attack, but they were ready.  
  
As I swung for the fences at their faces, they teleported behind me. They used the split second of recoil from my attack and grabbed my arms from behind. Then, the third one sent their dimensional rip right into my back.  
  
I gasped in terror as it began to slowly envelop me. I looked down in horror, watching my body starting to fizzle out into nothing. I couldn't be done yet! Our fight wasn't supposed to be this quick! I couldn't lose – the good guy's not supposed to lose!  
  
So ... this was it? **This** was how I was going to die? To some stupid, robed skeleton men and their stupid rips in the dimensions?! How did I even let it get this far? Tears began to pour from my eyes as I grit my teeth. It was surprisingly pleasant being faded away into nothingness. It didn't hurt at all, it was like all feeling in my body was being erased. Even still, my life was flashing before my eyes. So many wonderful memories - from childhood, making friends and playing outside. Riding my first bike and getting into all sorts of trouble. I had caused so many problems and made enemies I didn't even mean to. I'm so sorry for all of it. I tried my best to make up for it, but in the end ... it wasn't enough. All of my friends' faces appeared before me. What will they say? What will they do when I just ... stop showing up for school? When I'm not at home and nowhere to be found? Why did it have to end this way ...?  
  
I didn't want to die. ...  
  
I don't want to die!!  
  
  
I clenched my eyes and my teeth as I felt the nothingness of the dimensional rip consume all the way down to my toes. I panted fearfully while it slowly absorbed up my neck. I imagined I was going underwater, and that I had to hold my breath as long as I could.  
  
But then, as it touched my chin, I heard them speak.  
  
" _No. ... We have made a mistake._ "  
  
I gasped, my eyes shooting open. I looked down, finding my body completely intact. I touched my chest and my face in disbelief. I wasn't dead? I wasn't eaten away into nothing? Well, hot damn – I was in one complete piece again! But I didn't have any time to enjoy it when I turned around and saw them staring at me. I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes, letting my pounding heart calm down.  
  
" _We will spare your life, young mortal,_ " they calmly said.  
  
"Why?" I just had to ask.  
  
" _You must understand, we are infallible. We have kept time flowing perfectly since its inception. However, we have never dealt with humans personally. We have never interfered with life and death. We realize that we cannot do that now._ " I stared at them in amazement. " _What's more, young Anthony, your powers are ... shall we say, quite intriguing. There has never been a human like you before. You have a pure spirit and a sense of wonder that is rare amongst your kind. We have found enjoyment in watching over you for the short amount of time you've used your powers. And so, we will continue to do just that._ _ **However,**_ _we must be completely clear with you in telling you that you cannot_ _ **ever**_ _use your power to manipulate time ever again. Should you do so, we will not hesitate to engage you in another fight. When we do, we will pull you into a dimensional rip for good and not be as merciful as we were this time._ "  
  
"Sounds fair," I quietly replied, feeling quite overwhelmed with emotion as I gazed at the ground and smiled. "Truth be told, a good friend of mine told me that I should actually give up this power. It serves no actual use to me anymore, but I have grown a lot thanks to it."  
  
" _Very good,_ " they said. " _So be it. This will be the last time we ever cross paths on the same plane again. Perhaps someday, when your soul sheds its mortal coil, we will meet with you and converse on friendlier terms ... for an eternity if you so wish._ "  
  
I laughed. "I'd say I'm looking forward to it, but I've got a lot of living left to do."  
  
That's when I noticed the van down below and panicked.  
  
"Wait!" I quickly exclaimed.  
  
" _Hmm?_ "  
  
"Just let me get back into the same position I was before you stopped time on Ophelia."  
  
" _Very well. Do it quickly. We mustn't stay in this time warp for long._ "  
  
  
I hustled back down to the ground and rushed into the van with her. I crawled atop her once again, letting her immobile hand cradle my crotch before giving the thumbs up to the time gods. They nodded, and suddenly time returned to normal - Ophelia and everything.  
  
"You're good," she happily remarked with a giggle. I was feeling far too spiritual at that point to want to go any further. Oh yes, I actually said that. For once, I **didn't feel up to having sex**.  
  
"Wait, Ophelia," I said as I got up.  
  
"What's wrong?" she asked with concern. "Am I going too fast for you?"  
  
"That's just it, I ..." I looked away. "I just can't do this. I don't want to upset you by declining or anything, I just ... can't. I'm sorry."  
  
"It's all right," she softly replied. "It was just an offer. I can't tell you how thankful I am that you showed up out of nowhere to help me get back on the road."  
  
"Like I just ... flew in like a bird, huh?"  
  
"Exactly!" she exclaimed. Both of us quietly laughed. "Don't apologize, it's fine."  
  
"Thanks, Ophelia."  
  
"Thank **you** , Anthony."  
  
The two of us shared one final kiss. I then shuffled backwards out of the van, holding her hand to help her get out as well. She gave me one more hug before letting her arms fall away with a smile.  
  
"Do you want me to give you a lift back to your place?"  
  
"No, it's all right. I was going to walk back home."  
  
"All right, then," she replied with a smile.  
  
"Drive safely," I told her.  
  
"I will!" she cheerfully exclaimed. She closed the back door behind her and then opened the driver's side door. "You take care, too, okay?"  
  
I nodded to her before she got into the driver's seat and turned the engine over. I waved to her as she waved back with her arm out the window. Her horn played 'La Cucaracha' and I just laughed, watching her drive away. Now that she was gone and I finally had a moment to myself, I collapsed onto my butt and hunched over in exhaustion.  
  
  
I just listened to my own quiet breathing, staring at the dirt for several minutes. My fingers combed through it, reveling in how cool and soft and ... dirt-y it was. A smile slowly spread across my lips. I was alive. I was alive and feeling better than ever. It was amazing. I never imagined I would have been so close to death and then ... live to tell about it. Well, I don't think there was anyone I **wanted** to tell that experience to. After all, there's almost nobody that would believe me anyway.  
  
I took a deep breath, smelling the fresh water underneath the bridge as it lapped upon the rocks nearby. I was so much more thankful for everything in my life. That's because I still had a life to live. I sighed happily, looking up at the sky through the gap in the bridge. My time-stopping power was officially no more. I'd always keep those incredible memories of it with me, but I could never use it ever again for any reason. Those time gods sure do know how to show up in the blink of an eye.  
  
I then calmly got to my feet, brushing the dirt off my pants and off my hands. I noticed the gas can on the ground and smirked as I made it disappear. I casually strolled away, hands in my pockets before making my body go invisible. As I slowly took to the air once again, I knew that there was so much more for me to do and experience. My job as a part-time superhero was just getting started. Maybe I'd never get to fight gigantic monsters or aliens from another world, but so what? What mattered to me was using my power for good. If I use my powers for something as simple as helping an old lady cross a street or rescuing a kitten from a tree, that was more than good enough for me.  
  
I was **way** past exhausted after I'd gotten home. The combination of using my new powers, mixed in with having to use them in hyper-speed to defend myself, and the trauma of my near-death experience left me totally drained. I smiled so happily as I walked through the door of my home. I smiled as I took a shower, I smiled as I put fresh clothes on, I smiled as my head hit my pillow after collapsing into bed. I was just happy. Happy to be alive, happy with how my life was going, happy to be me. I didn't care if it was the middle of the afternoon, I just wanted to sleep and sleep and sleep. There was more school to be had tomorrow, and more of my life to be lived.


	19. Hero

About a week later, I had begun to settle into a patrol around the city. It was late night on Friday. I was soaring invisibly through the air, scouting for any possible trouble. My senses were sharpening to a point where nothing was able to escape me. I could see and hear things clearly from incredible distances. At a hundred feet overhead, I heard a guy coming out of a gas station drop his wallet. There was another man hanging out against the wall of the building that watched him. I came to a slow stop, but the first man simply scooped up his wallet and continued on his way without incident. Looked like it was shaping up to be another quiet night.  
  
I'd also started to make it a habit of getting free car rides with strangers to keep me closer to the street. I descended downward upon spotting a roaming police car. I calmly took a seat atop the hood of the car, my legs folded, keeping a watch out. Of course, the police within the car were unable to see me. With the police cars, it gave me the chance to listen to the radio chatter for any possible crimes going down. I grinned, ready and raring to go at the first sign of trouble.  
  
After an hour, I'd become reclined comfortably against the car's windshield. It wasn't just a quiet night, it was a dull one. The car rolled up to the local pharmacy store and parked. I groaned and sighed, letting my head fall back onto the top of the car.  
  
"You hear something, Pete?" one of the policemen asked his partner.  
  
"Probably a bird taking a dump on the car. C'mon, let's go inside."  
  
I watched the two police officers got out of the car to go inside the store. I sighed heavily and casually began to ascend back into the sky. I was heading back on patrol, certain that something would happen eventually.  
  
  
I really hadn't considered this heroic work to be so uneventful most of the time. Usually in TV shows, they're getting into some kind of trouble all the time. At that point, I'd find salvation in a good old-fashioned police chase through the city. I sighed heavily, not willing to give up just yet. After all - the darker it got, the shadier the characters that come out.  
  
A short time later, I heard the very quick, shrill scream of a woman's voice. It was faint considering how far away I was, and couldn't have lasted more than a second. I could only imagine what was going on and so, I quickly began to fly towards the source. It was at the Apex, the very same building that Natalie was going to meet her friend at. As I neared, I heard a quiet voice and what sounded like a struggle. I touched down near the back wall of the ground floor parking lot. When I turned the corner, my eyes widened in surprise. Under the outside light, a man held his hand over a woman's mouth while they fought for her purse.  
  
"Well if you want the purse so damn much," the crook said, "I'll just take something **else** instead!"  
  
The woman with mid-length, dark blonde hair quickly fought for control of her own body while he tried to reach under her dress.  
  
She managed to pull away to scream. " **No!** **Somebody please, help–!** "  
  
I saw more than enough. Without either of them seeing me, I made my body emerge from the shadows.  
  
"Hey!!" I shouted angrily, causing them both to look at me. "Let go of her right now!"  
  
The two of them were equally as shocked by my presence while I stared the man down. He quickly became infuriated with me.  
  
"Get out of here, kid, or I'll fucking kill you! I swear!"  
  
The woman then shouted to me, "Go get help! Hurry!"  
  
"I'm not going anywhere," I said, taking a step forward. "I'm not afraid of you, you cowardly prick. Let her go or I'll be forced to show you a whole new meaning of pain."  
  
  
Then, to my surprise, he actually let go of her. She quickly backed away, staying around as she watched in terror. The coward turned to me with a big smile as he reached in his pocket. From it, he pulled a large hunting knife.  
  
Oh, man. I then realized that guy was actually pretty huge and that knife looked **really** sharp ... and he was advancing straight for me.  
  
I quickly shook off my worry, gritting my teeth and staring him down. I straightened my back, standing up as tall as I could, puffing out my chest and put on the most stern expression I could. I just had to remember to believe in my powers. As long as I knew he couldn't hurt me, then it would be so.  
  
"Okay, kid, you wanna show me the meaning of pain? Go ahead!"  
  
He rushed at me, rearing the knife back before driving it straight at me while the woman screamed in fear. He was moving so quickly and yet, to me, it was like slow-motion. With the calmest of movements, I casually reached up and grabbed the blade of the knife between my fingers, bringing the weapon and all of his momentum to a dead halt. Both of them gasped in shock. I gently pried it from his hand and carelessly tossed it aside.  
  
"What the–?!" he shouted in a rage. "You little bastard!"  
  
He swung at me as if trying to punch through a brick wall. I side-stepped his attack like it was nothing and brought a swift knee up to his gut. He grunted loudly, the wind knocked out of him, hunched over and grabbing his stomach. I then gave him a quick strike to the back of the head, and he fell over to the ground. Just like that, he was out cold.  
  
  
The terrified woman had her hands over her mouth in shock as I stood up tall over the fallen brute. I casually brushed my hands together and smiled to her.  
  
"Oh, my god!" she quietly exclaimed. "You saved me! You're ... a hero!"  
  
I chuckled nervously. "Well, looks like you're all good now. I was just ... about to ... go. So, have a nice night!"  
  
"Wait!" she exclaimed as I turned to leave. "Please don't go! I'll call the police really quick. They'll know that you saved me."  
  
My shoulders slumped over. Oh, great. I can't start getting involved with the police. What'll they start thinking when they see me at every foiled robbery? They'll start asking questions, wondering who I am, suddenly my face is on television for the world to see and wonder how 'Superkid' is stopping crime, one bad guy at a time. I _really_ should've just made myself invisible. Better for the victim to think some freak accident saved them or maybe they assume they blacked out and knocked the perp out instead.  
  
I sighed heavily. I got myself into this one and so, I may as well roll with it just this once. I just had to make sure it didn't happen anymore.  
  
"Well, I– I guess I could," I replied, nervously scratching the back of my head. "I don't really want people to start thinking I've got _superpowers_ or anything." She laughed as she pulled out her cell phone from her purse.  
  
"Okay, we'll say it was a joint effort. He ran for it, you tripped him, I came in and knocked him out. Sound good?"  
  
I smiled thankfully. "Sounds good."  
  
  
Within minutes, the police were on the scene. Bright police car headlights and emergency lights were going off in all directions. Crap, was I nervous. I kept my cool as best as I could as we ran through our stories together for the police to write down. All the while she seemed to look over at me frequently with this really warm, pretty smile that made me feel like I'd done a ton of good. I had to admit she was actually quite beautiful. It was funny to me to think that I didn't even pay attention to her looks when I was fighting that guy off of her – I just wanted her to be okay. Head back a couple of months and, instead, I would've been drooling and falling head over heels at the very sight of her in public.  
  
They wheeled the burly crook away on a handcuffed stretcher. He was still unconscious by the time they carted him out to the ambulance.  
  
"You did good, kid," the police officer taking my statement said to me. "Even the littlest amount of help can save a person. That was pretty brave of you to stand up to that guy."  
  
"Thanks," I casually said with a nod.  
  
"We'll give you a call if we need anything else from you. Have a good night!"  
  
"You, too!" I replied before the cop headed back to his squad car. The woman I saved, also freed up from giving her statement, slowly strode up to me.  
  
"I don't think we've been formally introduced," she said, "– at least not without someone coming at you with a knife." I chuckled with her as we gently shook hands. "I'm Cassandra."  
  
"Anthony," I replied with a big grin.  
  
"Well Anthony, it's wonderful to finally know the name of the man who came to my rescue. I'm very grateful to you, truly."  
  
"Always nice to meet a fan," I joked. She quietly laughed and smiled at me.  
  
"You know, I~ can't just let you go without a proper 'thank you.'" I tilted my head curiously. "Come with me into the Apex. I'll buy us a couple of drinks at the bar."  
  
"Drinks?" I asked, almost in shock. I'd never drank alcohol before. Well, aside from stealing a curious sip of someone's beer and also sneaking off with a wine cooler that one time. Those don't exactly count. I was kind of nervous about the idea. Either one of us could've gotten in trouble for it. ... But, what the heck? I had superpowers now, right? I _lived_ for trouble.  
  
"Sure," she replied. "You're over twenty-one, right?" With her that close to me, seeing that inviting look in her eyes, it was hard for me to turn her down.  
  
"Of course," I replied with a casual shrug. "You couldn't tell by how grown-up I look?"  
  
She chuckled. "You're right - my mistake." She put a hand behind my back and began to lead me toward the building. "Come on."  
  
  
The police were starting to pull away as the two of us headed off under the very regal overhang above the entrance to the building. The rhythmic sound of her heels tapping the pavement was quite enjoyable. I noticed the valet guy wave to her before we entered the front automatic doors. I thought the outside was regal enough, but the lobby was even more incredible. Golden pillars, leather sofas, marble floor - everything spotless and shiny.  
  
"Hello, Miss Cassandra!" one of the security guards greeted her as she walked in.  
  
"Good evening, Paolo," she replied. "You're looking well."  
  
"So are you! That was a lot of police cars out there! Are you all right?"  
  
Cassandra merely shrugged. "Nothing I couldn't handle," she said with a smirk as she began to walk away with me.  
  
"Have a good evening!" Paolo called out.  
  
I was really loving the cool and confidence she exuded. As we calmly walked together, I found myself gazing over at her. I was already finding her quite sexy - and I don't mean that just because of how she looked, even though she **was** gorgeous. Something about her tone of voice, the way she talked and how she carried herself were just dripping with sultriness. I actually found myself a bit intimidated when she glanced over at me from the corner of her eye with a casual smirk.  
  
"So, have you ever been here before?"  
  
"The bar?" I asked in confusion. "Oh, yeah, me and my ... pals ... go, uh, clubbing just **all** the time."  
  
"I meant the Apex," she replied with a laugh.  
  
"Oh!" I exclaimed with some embarrassment. "No, actually. First time here. It's very ... upscale, I must say."  
  
She humphed. "Most of the people here are a bunch of uptight stiffs. None of them are a lick of interesting. The men are millionaires and the women are the gold-diggers that married them. All seriousness, no fun, totally boring." She then smirked to me. "None of them would've stepped in to help me like you did."  
  
I just smiled and tried not to get completely embarrassed by how thankful she was to me.  
  
  
We walked into the open entrance of a large dining hall. She led me down a few steps onto the floor, heading straight for the bar in the very center of the whole thing. A pianist played a soft melody on the piano nearby. Yes, I know – _pianist_. All the while, Cassandra remained courteous and polite to those 'uptight stiffs' that greeted her as she walked by. She certainly seemed to know a lot of them. I felt really out of place escorting someone who was rubbing elbows with millionaires.  
  
She took a seat at the nearest bar stool and sighed quietly. She placed her purse on the counter while I took a seat next to her. Again, I found myself a little intimidated. I'd never drank, therefore I'd never ordered drinks before. I only remember being told to stay away from the bar as a kid, since that was always 'grown-up territory.' The many hundreds of alcohol bottles lining the circular wall behind the bartender confused me. What do I even order? I racked my brain trying to remember the names of mainstream drinks, but all I could remember was Shirley Temple.  
  
"Good evening, Cassandra," the bartender with a smooth voice and slicked-back hair said.  
  
"Evening, Ron," she replied with a much more exasperated voice than before. Looked like she was finally letting her hair down. "Give me a scotch - neat."  
  
The bartender nodded and then looked over at me. His expression turned to confusion before glancing back to Cassandra.  
  
"He's twenty-one, right?" he quietly asked. She laughed as she looked over at me.  
  
"It's fine," she replied. "After all, he saved my bacon out there."  
  
Ron looked surprised. "Oh, that was **you** that nearly got robbed out there?" Cassandra closed her eyes and nodded. "I heard the mumblings from people that went out to go look. Wow. Are you okay?"  
  
She grinned. "I am now. Thank you, Ron."  
  
  
The bartender then turned to me, awaiting my order.  
  
"Uh," I replied before deepening my voice a little, "... I'll have ... what she's having." I cleared my throat and leaned back on the stool in an attempt to look casual. The bartender seemed more confused than anything, but then shrugged and began to pour our drinks. He handed them to us and I stared at my glass in surprise. I was actually drinking.  
  
"Thank you," she said. He nodded to her and went to go tend to another customer. She put the glass to her lips and gazed over at me from the corner of her eyes with a grin. "You know, you don't have to look like that. Nobody's going to ask questions when you're with me." I quickly straightened my back, feeling like an idiot as I quickly grabbed my glass of scotch.  
  
"You also don't have to look like you're in school, either," she added. I laughed and hunched over a little. She quietly laughed, taking a long sip of her drink and sighing in relief.  
  
I pressed the lip of the glass to my own lips. The smell of the drink was unlike anything I smelled before. I quickly shook off my intimidation of the entire situation, wanting to show Cassandra that I could be as cool as she was. Well, here goes nothing.  
  
I tipped the glass back and nearly spilled it on myself as I was under the assumption that drinking faster meant looking more adult. Within seconds I had downed the whole thing and nearly choked on the attempt - literally. I sighed just the same as she did before coughing. Wow, that was some strong stuff.  
  
"Thirsty, huh?" she playfully asked me, finding my antics infinitely amusing.  
  
"You know it," I responded in a raspy voice as I placed down the empty glass. She laughed and shook her head before taking another sip of her drink.  
  
"So," she spoke again whilst placing down her half-full glass, "tell me about you."  
  
I coughed again to clear my throat before I could speak normally again.  
  
"Well, I'm just going to school right now," I said before quickly adding, "er, college! Yeah, I'm, you know, getting my ... degree."  
  
"I bet you're used to all those **wild** college parties, right?"  
  
"Oh ... _yeah_! It's just, you know, this stuff is a little stronger than what **I'm** used to."  
  
"Uh-huh," she replied, grinning. "And where do you live?"  
  
"In the first building right across the street," I said with a nod, "totally on my own. I moved out of my parents' dump a while ago." She smirked before taking another sip of her drink. "So, uh, I was wondering," I said.  
  
"Hmm?" she asked as she placed the glass down.  
  
"Why do so many people here seem like ... they're trying to get on your good side? I thought you said they were a bunch of stiffs."  
  
"That's because I'm the manager here," she replied with a laugh. I was surprised to hear that. "So, they try to sweet-talk me and think if they cozy up to me that I'll let them micromanage this place. That's not gonna happen. I'm not a dictator, but I'm also not going to cut someone's rent in half because they think they have an 'in' with management."  
  
She then lifted her arms high over her head. As she stretched, I couldn't help but look up and down her body.  
  
"So, uh, ... do you have a man in your life?"  
  
Her eyes lit up with intrigue. "Ooh, getting to the personal questions already, huh?" she playfully asked. "No, I don't have anybody. I've been out of love for ... oh, three years now. The men I meet are usually just assholes. Every so often a nice guy like you comes along, but ... it just doesn't work out between us." She smiled weakly as her eyes gazed away, seeming to get lost in reflection. She then glanced over at me. "And how about you? Do you have someone you have your heart set on?"  
  
"Well, ..." I trailed off with a slight grin, "there's this **one** girl..."  
  
"Oh?" she curiously asked. "What's her name?"  
  
"Sarah. She's really amazing. ... But, she and I aren't actually together, though. She already has a ... boyfriend."  
  
"Oh no, you got crushed." She placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "I can tell you love her, though," she added, surprising me. "I saw it in your eyes the moment you said her name."  
  
"Guess I do," I replied with a smile. "It took me a while to actually admit that to myself."  
  
"It's okay," she softly said. "I've been there before. It takes some time to heal a broken heart, but you'll heal."  
  
"Thanks," I replied.  
  
  
She rubbed my shoulder as she gazed into my eyes with a smile. Something about the way she was looking at me made me think she was getting ideas.  
  
"I think you are **incredibly** adorable," she remarked. "You were like a rottweiler out there fighting off that huge guy with ease. Inside, though, you're like ... a puppy. It's sweet." Her hand drifted down my arm and continued downward. "I have to admit, I **like** cute guys like you...."  
  
She surprised me as I felt her hand slowly going up and down my leg.  
  
"Barkeep!" I exclaimed as I kept my eyes affixed on hers.  
  
"Yes?" Ron asked as he came over. I nudged my glass toward him.  
  
"Another, please," I said.  
  
"Another one?" she asked, seemingly impressed. "You going for the high score?"  
  
" **Definitely** ," I replied with a nod.  
  
  
By the time she was halfway through her second drink, I was done with seven. Yes, seven. The empty glasses were scattered about in front of me like my trophies. Needless to say, I was very, very drunk at that point.  
  
"Ya' know, I gotta tell ya," I spoke in a drunken slur, "... a woman like you ... turns me on **so** much..."  
  
She grinned at me as her finger traced the lip of her glass.  
  
"Oh yeah? Why's that?"  
  
"Because, ... you're **so~** **hot**." I pointed my finger at her, finding it hard to keep my balance. "You don't take crap from **anybody** around here."  
  
"Well, I can't let the stiffs think they can walk all over me. I wouldn't have lasted as long as I did."  
  
"That's right," I concurred. "You show 'em!"  
  
She smirked playfully. "What else do you think of me?"  
  
"I think you're hot, ... and you're beautiful, and ... you're **sexy**." She stifled a laugh. "And you've got an **amazing** rack...."  
  
"You like them, huh?" she asked, casually nudging the side of her breasts with her arm. "They're real, you know."  
  
" **You're** real," I replied in an attempt to be sexy, but looked very goofy instead. "You are **so** real."  
  
She quietly laughed, shaking her head as she looked at me with a warm smile.  
  
"So, you're not actually a drinker, huh?"  
  
"No," I replied. "I _totally_ lied out of my ass." She nodded, figuring as much. "I was ... **so** , so, so hoping ... that I would get laid by you tonight. **So** hoping."  
  
She hummed thoughtfully at that admission. "I caught you giving me the eye a few times, but you kept it to yourself." She reached over and placed her hand over her own. I drunkenly stared at it before looking up at her. "You know, I **like** a man who's **honest**...."  
  
"Honesty is the best policy," I replied.  
  
"You think you can handle me? Hmm?"  
  
"I sure can," I said before leaning in and holding a hand to the side of my mouth. "After all, I have **superpowers** ," I whispered. "But, but, _shhh_. ... Don't tell anyone, okay? It'll be our secret!" Considering how genuine I sounded, she seemed more confused than tickled my my comment. But she brushed it off as nothing more than drunken silliness.  
  
"You're a fun drunk, Anthony," she remarked, taking a final drink from her glass. "I haven't had this much fun in a long time."  
  
"Oh, I'm fun, baby! I'm Mr. Fun!" I exclaimed, catching a few confused stares from people nearby. Most of the people had already left by then, so there weren't too many spectators to my drunken stupor. "Woo~!" Cassandra seemed to be loving the confusion I was attracting. They all quickly looked away from me upon seeing Cassandra glancing around at them. "Ohh, my head is ... _flying_ right now."  
  
With that thought, I drunkenly began to float into the air a few inches. Cassandra watched in shock and confusion before I suddenly plopped back down onto the stool with a goofy laugh. She was still in shock while I groaned wearily and lost my balance a bit. I fell toward her and she quickly caught me.  
  
"Whoa!" she said with a laugh. "You really **are** flying, huh?"  
  
"I feel dizzy...," I remarked with a weak groan.  
  
"Come on, let's get you out of here," she said as she slipped down from her chair. She then helped me to do the same. "You can sleep it off at my place."  
  
Cassandra waved to the barkeep, who smiled and waved back. She kept her arm tightly hooked around my chest as she calmly led me out of the dining hall.  
  
"Whoo!" I exclaimed. "Here comes the groom! All dressed in ... bloom!" I thought about what I said before bursting out laughing.  
  
  
As we got out into the hallway, she called for the nearest elevator. I looked at her in the nearby mirrored wall and grinned.  
  
"Wow...," I remarked in amazement as I saw her reflection. "Is that your twin sister? She's **so** hot like you are...." She smiled and calmly led me onto the elevator. She pushed for her floor, allowing the doors to close. I groaned and stumbled to the side, but she held me upright.  
  
"Almost there," she quietly said. "Just stay with me, okay?"  
  
"Oh, I'll stay with you, baby," I slurred out another attempt to be seductive. "I'll stay with you **all** night long...."  
  
She grinned in amusement. "You really want me, huh?"  
  
"I want you **so** much...." I replied as I rested my head on her chest. "I want to ... suck your boobies."  
  
The elevator doors opened and she led me down the empty hallway.  
  
"Don't worry about me, everyone!" I exclaimed. "I'm a superhero, I can take care of ... myself."  
  
"Even superheroes have to sleep it off, sweetie," she replied. She pulled out a key from her purse and unlocked her door. "Come on, in you go."  
  
"Whoo!" I exclaimed as she led me stumbling into her apartment. The place looked nice — at least from what I could see through my wobbly vision. Smelled nice, too. She took me into the bedroom and laid me down on the bed.  
  
"There you go," she said as she helped get my head on the pillow.  
  
"But I'm not even naked yet," I mumbled.  
  
"You don't have to be naked," she softly reassured me. "just lay down."  
  
  
I figured I was just imagining things when I saw her slip off her heels and then calmly slide in on the other side of the bed. That is, until I felt her put her arms around me. She held me gently, stroking the back of my head while she stared at my dazed, drunken expression.  
  
"Are we getting married now?" I asked in confusion.  
  
"You don't want to marry me, sweetheart," she quietly replied. "I've got way too much baggage. You don't deserve to be brought down by me...."  
  
"Ohh, but you are ... a **babe** ," I remarked. "Like, you could totally be on ... magazines and do model stuff and ... just be super hot."  
  
"You think so, huh?"  
  
"I **know** so," I replied before I leaned in and planted a drunken kiss on her lips. Instead of pushing me away, she closed her eyes and decided to engage me in a slow-paced kiss. I moaned in a daze as our lips bonded for a few moments. When we gently pulled away I looked at her with a lopsided grin.  
  
"We kissed, now we gotta ... have sex now. Me and you."  
  
She softly laughed. "Is that how it goes?"  
  
"Oh, yeah," I said, continuing to drunkenly test my boundaries with her by reaching down and grabbing her ass in both hands. She merely smiled at me, bringing her hand from the back of my head to my face. I groaned softly as she slowly stroked my cheek continuously.  
  
"You have a nice, big ass...."  
  
"You like my ass?"  
  
"It's so ... **big** and feels **so** good...." I then burped an incredibly wretched stench of booze right into her face.  
  
"Wow!" she exclaimed, laughing and briefly turning her head away. "You're **definitely** drunk."  
  
I groaned, feeling totally out of it. "Why do you gotta be so sexy...?" I asked.  
  
"Because, that's how you see me as," she replied, going back to stroking my face. "Some guys look at me and they won't think I'm sexy like you do."  
  
"Well, they're ... just **stupid**!" I exclaimed before shuffling a bit closer to her. "C'mon, baby, you know you wanna **fuck** me...."  
  
"Oh yeah?" she teasingly asked. "And what if I did, hmm? What would you do to me...?"  
  
"Ohh, I would rip your clothes ... **right** off, like, rip 'em to shreds. ... And then you'd be **naked**."  
  
She laughed. "And what would do to me then?"  
  
"I would ... suck on your big, fat boobies...."  
  
"And then?"  
  
"I'd ... I'd suck on your boobies some more. I'd just ... suck 'em right off. I'd do anything you want me to, baby...."  
  
"I do have something I want you to do for me," she softly replied.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"Lay your head down here...," she said, guiding my head down onto the pillow, "close your eyes..."  
  
"Okay...." I said, doing as she told me.  
  
"...and get some sleep."  
  
With my eyes closed, I replied, "But I didn't even get to suck your boobies yet...."  
  
"Shh...," she gently shushed me and caressed my cheek. "Get some rest now, okay?"  
  
"Come on, I'll ... give you all the presents you can handle." She thought nothing of it as my powers inadvertently came to life. "How about teddy bears and ... chocolates and ... and balloons?"  
  
  
That's when I began to unwittingly create a bunch of those very same presents in mid-air. She gasped as a teddy bear and chocolate heart landed at our feet. She protected my head, watching in shock and disbelief once again as they continuously appeared in a circle around us. The balloons stayed airborne while the bears and hearts dropped to the floor and on the bed behind her. She then looked at me while I just kept my eyes closed and smiled wearily. I was fully aware of what I was doing, and, at the same time, had no idea I was actually doing it.  
  
"There you go," I told her just as my presents to her stopped raining down. "I hope those ... are enough ... for you...."  
  
I then fell asleep with the same smile upon my face. She briefly gazed around at the mass of dozens of balloons, hearts and bears all circled around us. She then slowly looked back at me, realizing she'd most certainly found someone very unique. Once she got over the shock of what just happened, she leaned in and planted a gentle kiss on my forehead.  
  
"It's more than enough," she whispered. "Thank you...."  
  
She gave me another kiss on the forehead before gently scooting away from me. She brushed aside some of the bears and hearts before sitting up on the edge of the bed. She reached over and picked a bear up, gazing curiously at it. She squeezed it and looked at it from all angles – it was indeed real. She then smiled and held onto it as she got to her feet. She walked over to me, taking the blanket folded neatly at the foot of the bed and sliding it over my body. She gazed at me for a moment before sliding the teddy bear in-between my arms. She grinned at the innocence of the scene before walking off to get undressed.  
  
  
The next morning, I awoke with a heavy groan. Opening my eyes, my eyesight wobbled around a bit until I could focus on the bright sunlight shining in from the sliding glass door. This wasn't my bed, or my home. I was so confused until I heard Cassandra's voice enter the bedroom from behind me.  
  
"Hey there, sleepy head," she said, wearing a silver-colored silk nightie. "I was wondering when you'd wake up."  
  
"What happened?" I asked with an incredible grogginess. "Why do I feel like crap?"  
  
"That's what's called a 'hangover.' You usually get those from drinking - a lot."  
  
"I was drinking?" I asked as she left the room momentarily.  
  
"Yep!" she replied from the other room. "You had seven glasses of scotch!"  
  
"Seven?" I wondered aloud. "Was I going for the high score?"  
  
She laughed as she re-entered the room with an empty glass and a pitcher of water.  
  
"That's what I said," she said, placing the items on the nightstand next to me. She poured some water into the glass, then helped me to sit. "Here - sit up." I groaned and lifted myself up. "Attaboy, drink some water," she said before handing me the glass of water.  
  
  
As I drank, I started recalling the events of last night – which, coincidentally, also involved drinking. I groaned as I handed the nearly-empty glass to her before laying back down.  
  
"Oh, no," I remarked. "I'm remembering stuff now. I acted like a complete idiot. I am so sorry."  
  
"It's fine, really." She placed the glass on the table and smiled at me. "I had fun with you last night," she added as she sat on the edge of the bed next to me. "You're a funny drunk."  
  
I wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or not. Instead, I noticed that my chest was bare.  
  
"Why is my shirt off?"  
  
"You were getting hot during the night so I took it off for you. It's over there in the corner."  
  
As she pointed to the corner, I noticed a peculiar pyramid of teddy bears, balloons and chocolate hearts stacked up there with my shirt.  
  
"Are you a collector of teddy bears or did you get a hundred early Valentine's gifts?"  
  
She laughed. "Those ... were from _you_."  
  
I had **no** idea what she was talking about.  
  
"What?" I uttered.  
  
"Last night, you wanted to give me a bunch of gifts. Then they started ... raining down from the ceiling like raindrops."  
  
My heart sunk. Suddenly I realized why I should really, _really_ stay away from alcohol. My mind is the catalyst for my powers, after all. If, for example, I were to lose my ability to think clearly I could accidentally shoot off my powers like a loaded gun. Sure, giving her a bunch of gifts was innocent enough – but what if I'd thought up to accidentally tear the roof off the Apex building? That sure wouldn't have been as cute as a bunch of teddy bears.  
  
  
I stared at her, my jaw hanging in disbelief. She just stared back with a knowing smile. I had no idea how I could explain it to her.  
  
"It's funny," she said. "In the hallway, when I brought you up here, you called yourself a 'superhero.'" I was astounded at how goofy I was. "When we were drinking, you told me you had superpowers, but to keep it a secret."  
  
My palm instantly hit my face.  
  
"It's okay!" she reassured me. "I promise I will keep it a secret. I owe it to you anyway."  
  
"Thank you," I said, muffled from behind my palm before my hand slid away.  
  
"But, I just want to know ... how?" she asked. "How are you able to do those things? I saw you start to float away from your chair at the bar and, at first, I thought _I'd_ been drinking too much, ... but now I see you did that yourself."  
  
I sighed, looking down at my hands. "Well, I figured out _how_ my powers work," I replied. "I can just think of something - anything - and I can make it happen. As for how I got them ... that I don't know. I literally woke up one morning and suddenly ... I had a bunch of superpowers."  
  
"That's incredible," she remarked in awe. "Then again, ... **you're** incredible, Anthony. I knew from the moment we met that you were something special. You're without a doubt the most unique guy I've ever had the pleasure of meeting."  
  
"I think you're something special, too, Cassandra," I said with a smile. "The way you're so cool and confident all the time is so–"  
  
"Hot?" she quickly asked. "Sexy? You know, you admitted a _lot_ of things to me last night about what you think of me. It was _very_ interesting...."  
  
  
Then, she slowly crawled atop me, a sultry grin on her face as she straddled my hips. I was shocked, but still very happy about it - to say the least.  
  
"Are you sure you don't want me to ... go?" I innocently asked.  
  
"Definitely not," she replied with a playful chuckle. "Don't you want to do what you said last night? Rip my clothes off and fuck me?"  
  
Her eyes lowered into an alluring gaze as she gently rubbed my chest.  
  
"What about your, uh, manager job?"  
  
"It's fine," she quietly spoke. "We have _plenty_ of time **all** to ourselves...."  
  
  
She dipped down, engaging me into a warm kiss that I was **more** than happy to return. We moaned together, my excitement enhanced by the dazed, hungover state I was in. Her lips were warm and soft, putting me at ease with her affection. I felt blanketed by her warm body, her sweet perfume enchanting. Lost in a lip-lock with a beautiful woman like Cassandra was the best wake-up call I'd ever had. I slid my hands down the back of her silk nightie, dragging the low-cut hem up. She moaned as I grabbed her bulbous booty, and I moaned back upon realizing she wasn't wearing any panties.  
  
She pulled her lips away and grinned as she sat up straight. She slowly lifted up her flimsy gown, allowing me to savor every inch of revealed skin as she took it off. She then tossed it aside, chuckling in amusement when she caught me staring at her big, luscious breasts. They were so perfectly sized, just big enough to touch each other. They hung just slightly from her chest like two ripened fruit ready to be enjoyed. Her lovely dark pink nipples stared at me, making my mouth water, waiting for me to give them the attention they deserved.  
  
"You know, when you were drunk, you kept asking to 'suck my boobies,'" she said. She grinned as she leaned in to whisper, "I think I'd like that, too."  
  
She kissed me again, keeping things slow and tempered between us. At the same time, I'd been so hot for her ever since last night. She had no qualms when I reached for her chest and grabbed her heavy breasts in both hands. She merely moaned onto my lips in response as I began to knead them and stroke their warm, malleable form. Her lips gently parted from mine, our eyes locking immediately. She smiled at me, sighing and moaning softly as I played with her amazing tits.  
  
She shifted her body higher upon my own, positioning her lovely chest with my face. She gasped in excitement when I let go of her breasts, only to immediately lave my tongue over them. She watched me with an open-mouthed grin as I indeed got to work sucking her boobies.  
  
  
Cassandra continued to softly vocalize as my mouth popped from around the flesh of her soft, warm breasts. I left little red marks where my lips had gone, moving in an erratic pattern as I enjoyed the bounty she had to offer. I buried my face in between them, licking around inside the cleft while soaking up their heft and warmth pressing into my cheeks. She uttered low, drawn-out moans of pleasure at what I was doing to her.  
  
I then moved my way to her nipple, hearing her gasp again as I sucked it into my mouth like a vacuum. At the same time, I reached down again to grab her ass tight and start squeezing it. I slurped and sucked hard on her areola, clamping my lips around as much of her breast as I could. I ecstatically licked her hard, rounded, nubby nipple, drawing deeper moans from her as I went after her sensitive bud.  
  
I slipped a hand down past the splendrous cheeks of her ass and dug my fingers into her slit. I left her nipple practically raw as I began to suck on the other. I rubbed her sex in circles with my fingertips, working to arouse her as much as she'd aroused me since, by then, I was already hard as a rock.  
  
She moaned with an open-mouthed grin, tilting her head back while I went to town on her nipple. She had started rolling her hips, grinding herself against my fingers. She was getting so very wet so very quickly. But as I noticed that, she slowly sat up with a hand on my chest, prompting me to take my hands away from her body. I curiously looked at her while she stroked my cheek.  
  
"Just lay back and relax, ..." she softly purred. "I'll take care of **everything** from here...."  
  
Cassandra's hands went down my chest and to my pants. She effortlessly undid them, pulling them down with my boxers to free my very excited shaft. She 'ooh'ed at the sight of it.  
  
"Beautiful...," she whispered as she slowly stroked it. I groaned happily in response. Her grip was so tight whilst her movements were calm. She watched me with a smile as she expertly rolled pleasure through me with her hand.  
  
"I like young men like _you_ , you know...." she playfully said. "So eager, so hungry, so ... _passionate_. I know **exactly** what young guys like you want. You want a woman with a gorgeous body..."  
  
"Oh, yeah...," I responded in awe.  
  
"...who **knows** what she wants..."  
  
"Uh-huh...."  
  
"...and isn't afraid to get a little ... _messy_...."  
  
  
Cassandra shuffled herself back, lowering her head down. She gave not a hint nor moment of hesitation before her lips slid down my very tense penis. I exhaled sharply, entranced with bliss as she calmly bobbed her head up and down. I felt and heard her lips slurping around me, encompassing me in the soft, pressurized warmth of her lips and inside her cheeks. She kept at it, moving calmly and smoothly, offering me divine pleasure. She stopped at the tip for a moment. Her tongue circled around the head and grinding hard into the cleft underneath it. I groaned in amazement, very happy with that brief intermission before she rhythmically went back down the length of my penis.  
  
Then, she covered a big wad of saliva all over my shaft. She grinned at me as she enclasped my length within the warmth of her gorgeous breasts and slowly rubbed them up and down. I watched and groaned in awe as the head of my manhood peeked up between those peach-toned orbs again and again. She stared back at me, getting a kick out of my reactions. I laid back down on the pillow, happily letting her do all the work. She then began greeting my exposed head with her tongue, circling all around it. I uttered my approval, so very happy with everything she was doing to me so far.  
  
Cassandra let my cock slide out the bottom of her bulbous breasts before she came up to meet my lips with her own once more. We shared a brief, intimate kiss while she was busy positioning her body over my lap. She stroked my shaft in one hand, aiming it at the very wet point between her thighs.  
  
"You're pretty good at holding back," she remarked in a tone dripping with seductiveness, "but you won't be able to hold back for much longer...."  
  
"Probably not," I softly replied.  
  
She chuckled as she slid the very swollen head of my penis inside of her, then slowly lowered her body down to take the rest within her. I groaned lustfully as her very hot, wet walls unfurled and clenched around me. She just barely seated herself on my thighs before smoothly coming back up, and then back down again. She moved in an effortless rhythm that had me instantly mesmerized. She softly moaned along with me, grinning as she watched me blankly stare the point where our bodies were united.  
  
  
"Does it feel good inside of my pussy...?" Cassandra asked.  
  
"Oh, god, yes...." I replied in amazement.  
  
"Oooh, Anthony," she softly remarked, "you're so sweet and genuine. ... I'm **so** glad I'm doing this with you...."  
  
Both of us felt so comfortable doing this with each other. I couldn't believe how good it felt being inside of such a captivating woman such as Cassandra. I reached up, taking both of her hefty, bouncing breasts and squeezing them tight. My head fell back onto the pillow once more and I closed my eyes. I enjoyed every second spearheading into her heat and massaging her breasts. She took a brief intermission from time to time, grinding her clit into my crotch while simultaneously milking me hard with her velvety walls of paradise. It caused both of us to moan in enthrallment.  
  
Her ass audibly smacked my thighs, her pussy squelching as she absorbed me into her heaven and made me feel like part of her. She took me for a ride inside her immaculate body that I didn't want to get off from. I couldn't believe I'd saved such a gorgeous woman from being attacked, but this was certainly the kind of reward for my heroism that I wouldn't take for granted. I gazed up at her as I felt her body shifting down. She looked into my eyes with the most sultry gaze I'd ever seen. Her lips were pulled into an open-mouthed grin as she moaned to me, infinitely enticed by me – just as I was with her.  
  
Cassandra began to fuck me harder and faster, grabbing onto my shoulders and using me as a counter-weight as she relentlessly shoved her hips down on me. She quickly amplified my pleasure to the point where all I wanted to do was just let go and spill myself into her. I kept my fingers clamped down on her great breasts, sharing the splendrous heat of an intimate moment with this bodacious beauty. I could've never imagined a woman as beautiful as her would even give me the time of day, let alone have sex with me. The bed creaked beneath us as I panted heavily, groaning in lustful unity with her. She slammed her hips down onto me, causing me to tear through her amazing heat.  
  
"Oh, yes, Anthony!" she shouted, impassioned. "I want you to cum! I want you to cum inside of me! ... Yes, Anthony, yes! Ohhh, you're so amazing!!"  
  
I was hypnotized by her voice, unable to resist her beckoning call. She knew exactly what she was doing crying out my name like that. It became nigh impossible for me to hold back any longer. My head arched back, groaning loudly as my lover sung a duet with me. My body tightened up before I suddenly shot spurt after spurt of hot seed into the depths of her belly with a long sigh of relief. Our bodies shuddered together, her tight muscles milking every drop I had to give her. She was so amazing. Looking at her beautiful face and soft curves through my half-lidded eyes made my release oh, so satisfying.  
  
  
Then, she rested atop me, holding me in her tight, safe embrace. We both panted heavily into each others' shoulders.  
  
"It's been a while since I had some real sex," she whispered. "That felt **so** good."  
  
"You're amazing," I whispered back. "I'm so, so glad I met you, Cassandra."  
  
She chuckled. "The feeling is mutual, Anthony...."  
  
The two of us shared another intimate kiss while her hand delicately stroked my sweaty face. Afterward, we spent a brief moment just smiling at each other. She had a gorgeously radiant afterglow that put me completely at ease.  
  
"I could tell you weren't twenty-one," she softly said.  
  
"What was your first clue?" I jokingly replied.  
  
"Umm, ... all the lying you did." We both laughed.  
  
"I was that transparent, huh?"  
  
"Yeah, ... but you're still cute as a button," she said as she playfully pinched my nose.  
  
  
She rolled onto her side, taking me with her. We spent the next short while together in each others' arms, resting and enjoying the moment after the incredibly wonderful sex we shared. At the same time, she was busy formulating what she wanted to say next.  
  
"Anthony," she spoke to break the silence, "I'm always going to be indebted to you for coming to my rescue like a true hero would." I gazed back at her, captivated. "I knew from that moment we met that you had a good heart – and you do. I thought it was adorable how humble you were over saving me like that, like you didn't want any credit. I'm glad I talked you out of running off into the night and sharing drinks with me. You really are the funniest drunken person I have **ever** seen."  
  
"I guess I'll take that as a compliment," I replied, causing her to gently laugh.  
  
"We shared a wonderful time together and I feel like I got to know you very well. Everything you had to tell me was so honest–well, except for you lying about your age and being an experienced drinker." I chuckled nervously and rolled my eyes. "I know that you really loved Sarah. But you're a sweet, sweet guy - **and** you have superpowers. You'll find the person you're meant to be with - I just know it. It might not be until next week or next month or ... even ten years from now, ... but you **will** find your true love."  
  
"You think so?" I genuinely asked.  
  
"I know so," she softly said, smiling warmly. "You're a sweetheart and I know that any girl that's lucky enough to be yours will be showered by you with love and affection ... and chocolate hearts." I laughed and grinned. "But, enough of that, it's time for me to get back to real life now. I've gotta get ready to go to work soon." She placed her hands on my chest before sharing a brief, sweet kiss with me. "Thank you again for the most wonderful night of my life, Anthony...."  
  
Then, she sat up on the far edge of the bed and got to her feet. She stopped at the nearby dresser and pulled out a foil wrapper with a couple of pills sealed into it.  
  
"By the way," she turned to me and waved the wrapper back and forth, "don't worry about the finish to our love-making romp. That's why I have these on hand."  
  
"What are they?" I asked upon sitting up.  
  
"The morning-after pill. I keep them around just in case I meet any cute guys with superpowers." I grinned in amusement. "Just remember to come visit me again soon, okay? Tell the guys at the front desk that Cassandra wants to see you."  
  
"I will," I replied.  
  
"Ta-ta for now, beautiful," she said, blowing me a kiss.  
  
'Beautiful.' Didn't think I'd be called that. I contently watched her gorgeous body strut away into the bathroom to go take a shower. To think I'd actually gone all the way with _that_. I sighed happily and looked out the sliding glass door at the morning sun cast over the city. That's when I quickly looked over at the clock by her bed. It was past ten o'clock. I groaned and quickly got out of bed to reclothe myself. I could only hope my parents weren't freaking out by then. I hated to leave Cassandra so abruptly, but she was busy getting back to her real life and her work so there was nothing more for me to do or say.  
  
Once I got dressed, I turned invisible and headed for the sliding glass door. I walked onto the balcony and closed the door behind me. There, I pushed my foot off the balcony rail and went airborne. I wobbled a little bit, still feeling hungover. My parents were _definitely_ going to notice that. I figured I'd tell them my friends and I snuck into one of their parents' alcohol closets or something. I was still a dead man either way. At least the cool, morning air across my face and the smell of the ocean were nice. It was a pleasant ending to the amazing night I spent with the beautiful Cassandra.


	20. Epilogue

A few days later, I sat on the edge of the rooftop of my building. My body invisible, I gazed out at the evening sky as the sun set behind the city. The wind whipped wildly at me from up there, but it didn't faze me. I was starting to get used to all the being up high, flying around, having the most incredible sense of freedom I could've ever dreamed of. I'd still gotten grounded to hell from the hangover as I expected, but being able to turn invisible and fly away gave me some definite leeway.  
  
I looked at my hand and sighed thoughtfully. I had so much power inside of me, so much ability to do good and to help people and to make other peoples' lives better. I then turned my attention back to the setting sun and wondered: Would I ever find out **why** I had this power? Or would I just be happy, not question it, and move on with my life? Sure, I might've been able to find the answer to the enigma through some kind of inner dialogue. Perhaps through some inspirational montage where I climb a windy, snow-capped mountain to reach a huge temple where I find some old texts carved into stone teaching me about what I have inside of me?  
  
There was only one problem with that — I didn't actually care to find out.  
  
Thanks to my new powers, I had already learned more about myself than I ever knew. As long as I could imagine, I would always have my powers. I was content to exploring the extent of my abilities, while living my life to the fullest. The cool, dry air from the north hit my nose and flooded my mind with some special memories. In the future, I knew it would always remind me of this landmark point in my existence. Like I said, I had always enjoyed the cold air. Those winds of change carried upon them a path for me I could've never dreamed of.  
  
It harkened me back once more to Nick's talk about the future, about going where life takes me. As I glanced down and watched my shoes dangle back and forth, I knew I was slowly moving forward into the future. It wasn't about things changing, it was about progressing; progressing on to the next chapter of my life. I had attained so much confidence and grew so much as a person in such a short time. With my newfound powers, I knew the future was going to be amazing. I became quite hopeful about where life was taking me.  
  
Listen to me being so damn philosophical about my life.  
  
This definitely wasn't any dream, and I certainly wasn't in any coma. This was my real life. My real, superpowered life. I'd gone through plenty of inner struggles, losing my way only to get back on track once more. I'd certainly met a cast of characters along this wild journey – the foray into my new, unbelievable life. I managed to patch up my shoddy relationships, forge new ones with some incredible people, helped purge the influence of an abusive boyfriend out of one of my best friends' life. I learned just how important my friends were to me, and that I was willing to fight for them, no matter what. I ended up harassing a poor girl at the pool before realizing I was getting cocky. I fought off veritable _gods_ ... and lost, but still, I fought them. And, of course, I made love with a slew of wonderful ladies, each moment of which I would cherish forever.  
  
All the while, I had learned more and more about myself in small increments. I realized who I was, what I wanted, and where I wanted to go in life. Through it all, I learned to enjoy every moment I had. I enjoyed being me - because, in the end, ... that's all I really had.  
  
  
And so ends this chapter of my life. I would never forget that year of school — the people I got to meet, the friends I made, the lovers I bonded with, the wonderful emotions and sensations I got to experience in my young life.  
  
Who's to say what comes next?  
  
... Well, I'm certain I can always write about it.  
  


**The End**

  
  
**Author note: Thank you very much for reading this story. I truly hope you enjoyed it, particularly if you've read it all the way to the end. This story took much longer than I would've hoped to complete, but I'm glad it's finished now and that I can move on to my next story in this series. I have read every single comment I have gotten so far and I do appreciate them very much.**  
  
 **As a side-note, the girls (and teacher) in this story are based off of girls I went to school with. However their names have been changed as a respect to privacy. Frank and my other friends are also based off my real friends at the time. Other characters are inspired either by other peers I knew or simply made-up all together. If you have any other sort of behind-the-scenes questions to ask, I'd be happy to answer them.**  
  
 **Which character, chapter or scene was your favorite? Let me know in your comment/review! It will help me in finding out what I'm doing right and try to build off of it. Don't forget to give the story a Kudos!**  
  
 **That's it for now. What will the next story in this series entail? You'll just have to wait and find out. I'm sure your imagination is going wild with the possibilities. Feel free to comment on what you expect to see from the next one. My money's on you won't be able to even remotely guess what I have in store next time....**  
  
 **So long for now.**


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